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MATT CHAMBERLAIN He’S Moved from Texas to New York to Seattle and Now to L.A., Sometimes Following Employment and Sometimes Chasing His Muse

MATT CHAMBERLAIN He’S Moved from Texas to New York to Seattle and Now to L.A., Sometimes Following Employment and Sometimes Chasing His Muse

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Volume 36, Number 1 • Cover photo by Alex Solca CONTENTS Alex Solca Paul La Raia

36 AARON COMESS It’s been twenty years since the embedded them- selves in the recesses of our ears with hits like “Two Princes,” “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong,” and “Jimmy Olsen’s .” Turns out those gloriously grooving performances represent but one side of this well-traveled ’s career. by Robin Tolleson Ebet Roberts 48 He’s moved from Texas to to and now to L.A., sometimes following employment and sometimes chasing his muse. With his technical abilities and artful aesthetic, however, the first-call drummer would probably have plenty of work even if he moved to the moon. by Michael Dawson 64 In the mid-’80s, Hüsker Dü fused with bittersweet pop, setting the table for an entire generation of angst-ridden alterna-rockers. Two decades on, the band’s drummer traces the trio’s profound path of influence. by David Jarnstrom

47 THE 2012 MD PRO PANEL This year the Pro Panel once again represents the remarkable scope and

depth of modern drumming, from the absolute pinnacle of studio recording Matthias Ketz to the forefront of arena performance, from the most shredding metal to the cutting edge of .

12 UPDATE • J.P. “THUNDERBOLT” PATTERSON • Emily’s Army’s JOEY ARMSTRONG Marco Soccoli 70 INFLUENCES: 32 PORTRAITS Animals as Leaders’ NAVENE KOPERWEIS By merging elements of , fusion, R&B, and jazz into a daunting style that rides magically on a carpet of stunning 98 A DIFFERENT VIEW power and technical exhilaration, Dennis Chambers has become one of the most important and influential 100 FROM THE PAST Classical Roots, Part 3 of the post-fusion period. by Ken Micallef Education 92 72 CONCEPTS Memorizing Tips for Finding Your Own Reference Points by Mark Schulman

74 STRICTLY TECHNIQUE A Look at Hybrid Rudiments The Hairta and Its Application on the Drumset by Christopher Simms

76 ROCK ’N’ JAZZ CLINIC Sticking the Beat A Four-Step Process to Discovering New Grooves by Joel Popelsky

78 SOLOIST Ostinato Studies Part 3: by Jason Gianni

82 FUNKY BEAT Ideas From the Road Soundcheck Grooves to Chew On 20 by David Garibaldi Departments

8 AN EDITOR’S OVERVIEW YouTube Hit and Run by Adam Budofsky

11 READERS’ PLATFORM

16 ASK A PRO Gimme 10! With Train’s SCOTT UNDERWOOD Back Through the Stack With Jazz Vet BEN RILEY

18 IT’S QUESTIONABLE Cleaning Clear Kits • Drummers and Copyrights 30 102

86 SHOWCASE FEATURING DRUM MARKET Alex Solca Mel Robbins

92 CRITIQUE

102 BACKBEATS Remembering

104 KIT OF THE MONTH Kid-Friendly Demons Equipment

20 PRODUCT CLOSE-UP • DW Performance Series Drumset • PAISTE Twenty Masters Collection • AHEAD Armor Cases • Stanton Moore Pandeiro and Hi-Hat Shekere WIN an amazing e-Pro prize package 26 ELECTRONIC REVIEW from Pearl valued at over AVID Pro Tools $ 30 GEARING UP 9,200! pg. 73 Yellowcard’s LONGINEU PARSONS III

44 SHOP TALK MD DIGITAL SUBSCRIBERS! The Working Drummer’s Survival Kit When you see this icon, click on a shaded box on the page to open the audio player. by Benjamin Homola Note: Shaded boxes appear when you first view a digitally enhanced page, and then they fade; they will reappear when you roll over the area. Sign up online! 84 NEW AND NOTABLE AN EDITOR’S OVERVIEW

YouTube FOUNDER MODERN DRUMMER ADVISORY BOARD: Kenny Aronoff, Eddie Bayers, RONALD SPAGNARDI Bill Bruford, Harry Cangany, Dennis 1943–2003 DeLucia, Les DeMerle, Len DiMuzio, Hit and Run Peter Erskine, , Bob Gatzen, Danny Gottlieb, Sonny Igoe, , PUBLISHER/CEO Paul Leim, Peter Magadini, George healthy number of Modern Drummer’s followers Marsh, Rod Morgenstein, Andy ISABEL SPAGNARDI Newmark, Neil Peart, Ed Shaughnessy, Ahave real aspirations to one day see their name Steve Smith, Billy Ward, Dave Weckl, within the pages of the magazine, and not just on SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Paul Wertico. the address label on the cover. This makes for an LORI SPAGNARDI CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: unusually active and intimate relationship between Patrick Berkery, David Ciauro, John Emrich, Mike Haid, Dr. Asif Khan, Rick editors and readers, much of which is conducted via email exchanges. VICE PRESIDENT Mattingly, Ken Micallef, Mark Parsons, It’s inarguable that we wouldn’t be able to do what we do if it weren’t for KEVIN W. KEARNS Martin Patmos, Jeff Potter, Will Romano, Bernie Schallehn, Ilya Stemkovsky, the direct connection we have with our readers. Many story ideas begin with Stephen Styles, Robin Tolleson, Lauren reader inquiries, and for a magazine such as ours, whose stated aim is to help ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Vogel Weiss, Paul Wells. TRACY A. KEARNS players improve their craft, it’s incredibly important to encourage the public MODERN DRUMMER magazine to offer editorial suggestions. (ISSN 0194-4533) is published EDITORIAL DIRECTOR monthly by It gets sticky, of course, when readers’ suggestions involve doing a story MODERN DRUMMER Publications, Inc., ADAM J. BUDOFSKY on…them. On the surface, there’s no problem with this at all. After all, the 12 Old Bridge Road, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009. PERIODICALS MAIL POSTAGE paid at business has always been brutal, and drummers, by the nature of their Cedar Grove, NJ 07009 and at additional MANAGING EDITOR role in the music, remain both literally and figuratively in the shadows at the mailing offices. Copyright 2012 by MICHAEL DAWSON MODERN DRUMMER Publications, Inc. back of the stage. Given this scenario, who’s to blame a for tracking All rights reserved. Reproduction without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. down an editor’s email address and tooting his or her own horn? But—and this ASSOCIATE EDITOR is a big but—it’s all about how you do your tooting. BILLY AMENDOLA EDITORIAL/ADVERTISING/ADMINIS- Simply put, there’s been an alarming decrease in professionalism in the TRATIVE OFFICES: MODERN DRUM- MER Publications, 12 Old Bridge Road, many unsolicited emails we receive from aspiring professional drummers. One ASSOCIATE EDITOR Cedar Grove, NJ 07009. Tel: (973) day I hope to write a feature or even conduct a seminar on this subject—I really 239-4140. Fax: (973) 239-7139. MICHAEL PARILLO Email: [email protected]. do think that developing professional communication skills is that important in terms of your potential for success in this business, and I really do see that EDITORIAL ASSISTANT MODERN DRUMMER welcomes manu- scripts and photographic material but can- much amateur behavior. But for now we’ll focus on the single most frustrating SUZANNE HURRING not assume responsibility for them. trend I’ve observed: the hit-and-run YouTube link. The email usually looks SUBSCRIPTIONS: US and something like this: SENIOR ART DIRECTOR $34.97 per year; $56.97, two years. SCOTT G. BIENSTOCK Other international $59.97 per year. Single copies $5.99. Yo, yo, yo! Check out my playing. You need to cover drummers like me in Modern Drummer! Hit me back. www..com/watchm-0wv45986upw ART DIRECTOR SUBSCRIPTION CORRESPONDENCE: GERALD VITALE Modern Drummer, PO Box 274, Oregon, IL 61061-9920. Change of address: Now, a big part of an editor’s job involves deciding on the relative merits of Allow at least six weeks for ADVERTISING DIRECTOR a change. Please provide both old and one story idea over another—editorial space is always at a premium, and there new address. Call (800) 551-3786 BOB BERENSON never seems to be quite enough room in the magazine to cover all the great or (815) 732-5283. Phone hours, 8AM–4:30PM Monday–Friday CST, drummers making worthwhile contributions to the art. I mean, some of these or visit Subscriber Services at ADVERTISING ASSISTANT men and women have spent years humbly mailing in their latest recordings, www.moderndrummer.com. LASHANDA GIBSON DVDs, or method books, hoping for a mention in their favorite drum magazine. MUSIC DEALERS: Modern Drummer These individuals’ patience and perseverance is humbling, and it’s definitely is distributed by Hal Leonard Corp. DIGITAL MEDIA DESIGNER (800) 554-0626. [email protected] not lost on us editors, each of whom has been on the pitching side of our own EJ DECOSKE www.halleonard.com/dealers independent projects. INTERNATIONAL LICENSING But when you read your third or fourth “Look at how awesome I am and get REPRESENTATIVE: Robert Abramson & Associates, Inc., Libby Abramson, back to me immediately!” email in a day…well…an editor can get kinda cranky. MODERNMODERN DDRUMMERRUMMER PROPRO PPANELANEL President, PO Box 740346, Boyton By four or five o’clock, we might have already had to say no several times to MODERN DRUMMER Beach, FL 33474-0346, drummers with real careers—players who are polite, concise, clear, and confi- PRO PANEL [email protected]. 2012 Pro Panel dent without being arrogant; who are patient if their first and second emails go POSTMASTER: Send address changes unanswered for longer than they expected; who express a familiarity with the to Modern Drummer, PO Box 274, Gregg Bissonette Oregon, IL 61061-9920. publication they’re soliciting; and who show a basic understanding of the reali- Terri Lyne Carrington ties of the game. Why on earth would editors go out of their way to check out a Matt Chamberlain Canadian Publications Mail Agreement No. 41480017 Return undeliverable coarsely introduced YouTube link from an unknown drummer, when there are Bob Gatzen Canadian addresses to: PO Box 875, legions of professional player/communicators who’ve struggled for years for Gerald Heyward Stn A, Windsor ON N9A 6P2 Jim Keltner whatever recognition they’ve managed to get? MEMBER: National Association For The Internet is a powerful tool. But its existence hasn’t lessened by one iota Music Development, National Association Jim Riley Of Music Merchants, Percussive Arts the importance of good ol’ respectful human interaction. It’s highly unlikely Antonio Sanchez Society that an editor—or record company exec, or booking agent—is going to show Gil Sharone MODERN DRUMMER ONLINE: you any respect if you don’t show any for yourself. We should all remember to Billy Ward www.moderndrummer.com treat our work, and our colleagues, with the nobility they deserve. PRINTED IN THE 2011 Pro Panel: Jason Bittner, , Jeff Davis, Peter Erskine, Daniel Glass, Horacio Hernandez, Susie Ibarra, Allison Miller, Rod Morgenstein, Chris Pennie, Chad Smith, Paul Wertico 8 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012

READERS’ PLATFORM

TAYLOR HAWKINS I’ve been a subscriber to MD forever, and it’s the only drumming publica- tion needed. What a great job Ken Micallef did on the Taylor Hawkins interview in the September 2011 issue. Personally, I always thought my son and myself were the only two drummers on earth that hit a on every 2 and 4. I always did this to give the song more balls. Reading that Taylor has been doing it since he started playing made me feel that we’re in such good company! Louie Vecchio Sr.

I really enjoyed the Taylor Hawkins cover feature in MD’s September issue. I’m a huge Foo Fighters fan, and I think he’s the best. But his comments on Pro Tools editing have me confused and worried about today’s mainstream record- ing standards. If a studio pro and impeccable timekeeper can’t be trusted by a top pro- ducer to deliver an acceptable track that doesn’t need to be gridded and chopped up, why even hire him? Why not just use a or MIDI samples? Beat quantiza- tion, Auto-Tune, and note and pitch correction…where’s the performance? Are we buying a band’s or a producer’s computer piece? Will there be a Grammy award for best beat placement? The are the heart and soul of any song. They dictate the groove, vibe, emotion, and pulse and get you dancing. What’s so bad about a mistake on a record that no one would ever notice but the drummer who made it? I hope this opens a huge debate. Taylor and his band’s challenge to the status quo has not gone unno- ticed. Wasting Light just may the best record they’ve ever done. And his drums on it sound killer! Derek Lane

SAM ULANO I just wanted to say what a great article written by Ken Micallef on Sam Ulano in the September issue. I’ve known Sam for forty-five years, and he gets to the heart of drumming. I agree that learning and playing twenty-six rudiments does nothing if you can’t play the instrument—building the hands with weights, using metal drumsticks, and reading music is the way to help you become a professional drummer. Carmen DiChillo

I’m a bebop drummer, but I enjoy the entire gamut of music. I was very impressed with Sam Ulano’s philosophy regarding rudiments in the September 2011 issue. I have a BA in music, and in my entire time playing in jazz ensembles, choirs, orchestra, wind sym- phony, African drum ensemble, Brazilian drum ensemble, and steel drum orchestra, I’ve never once seen any music that contained rudiments, or even fragments of rudi- ments (except for flams or rolls, but not double strokes). Sam is absolutely right in his concept of music being the most important part. Rudiments have nothing to do with phrasing when it comes to jazz, classical, rock, funk, samba, , Greek, Brazilian, African, Latin, or any other genre of music, save marching band or archaic warfare. Thank you for speaking the truth. Dustin Haner III

HOW TO REACH US [email protected]

January 2012 • MODERN DRUMMER 11 UPDATE J.P. “THUNDERBOLT” PATTERSON A posthumous session is just the latest project for this stalwart NYC rocker.

t’s been an interesting life for J.P. “Thunderbolt” IPatterson. After spending some of his forma- tive years in Afghanistan, he’s enjoyed a unique dual career as a drummer (with New York punk legends the Dictators, among many others) and an actor, appearing in everything from The Sopranos to a Capital One commercial. But he’d never done a session playing along to a guide vocal from a deceased punk icon until he was asked to contribute two drum tracks to an upcoming Joey Ramone album. The recording, which consists of previously unreleased demos and outtakes, will also fea- ture Bun E. Carlos, , and Richie Ramone on the kit. “That was a Tupac situation,” Thunderbolt says with a laugh about the session, which found him doing about twenty takes of each song, playing along to Ramone’s voice, refer- ence and bass, and drum machine. “The two songs they had me play on were the back- beat things. I’ve got Al Jackson hi-hat catches all over it. Not what you’d expect on a Joey track— but I think it’s one of the best jobs I’ve done in the studio.” Patrick Berkery

To learn more about J.P. Patterson’s unique career, Marco Soccoli go to moderndrummer.com. JOEY ARMSTRONG The overachieving drummer in Emily’s Army shares his father’s interest in societal concerns.

oey Armstrong and his bandmates in ance a serious- JEmily’s Army pile a lot on their plates in minded message—

addition to cranking out undeniably catchy inspired by band Marcello Ambriz pop-punk tunes: They raise awareness for members Max and cystic fibrosis through their ties to the Cole Brecker’s cousin Emily’s Army Foundation, they tour across Emily—with infec- the nation, and they still manage to get all tious grooves and of their homework done. humor on tracks such Wait…what? Yup, teenage punk rockers, as “Ho-lloween.” “We and remarkably mature ones at that. love to make people “School comes first,” Armstrong insists. aware of the serious- “We do our homework and maintain good ness of cystic fibro- grades—but we don’t put music off.” sis,” Armstrong says, Although Emily’s Army first garnered “but we’re also fifteen, sixteen, and eigh- more effort. Whereas Armstrong channeled media attention because the drummer is teen and like to goof off and make jokes.” and on Emily’s the son of famed Green Day leader Billie After touring the East Coast in the sum- Army’s debut, he cites the fast punk-to- Joe Armstrong, the group has proven to be mer of 2011, the boys—who are longtime solid-dance versatility of Blondie’s Clem more than ready to stand on its own merit. friends—returned to school and got down Burke as his latest inspiration. Its debut, Don’t Be a Dick, manages to bal- to jamming up new songs for their sopho- Billy Brennan

12 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012

OUT NOW NEWS ON TOUR WHO’S PLAYING WHAT CDs Russian Circles Empros (Dave Turncrantz) /// Alesana A Place Where the Sun Is Silent (Jeremy Bryan) /// Megadeth Th1rt3en (Shawn Drover) /// IV (Joe Tomino) /// Odd Soul () /// Hossam Ramzy Rock the Tabla (Hossam Ramzy, Manu Katché, ) /// Fillmore East 1968 (Ron Bushy) /// Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood Live: In Case the World Changes Its Mind (Billy Martin) /// & Haitian Fascination Route de Frères (Andrew Cyrille, Frisner Augustin) /// FAB Trio History of Jazz in Reverse (Barry Altschul) DVDs August and Everything After (Jim Bogios) /// Club (Mac McNeilly) /// The Hollies Look Through Any Window 1963–1975 (Bobby Elliott) /// 1991: The Year Punk Broke (Steve Shelley, , Murph, Lori Barbero) /// Paul Rodgers & Friends Live at 1994 (Jason Bonham)

Books Rifftide: The Life and Opinions of Papa Jo Jones as told to Albert Murray (University of Press) /// Connecticut’s Fife & Drum Tradition by James Clark (Wesleyan University Press) /// Mountains Come Out of the Sky: The Illustrated History of Prog Rock by Will Romano (Backbeat Books)

OUT NOW NEWS ON TOUR WHO’S PLAYING WHAT The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has named drummer and composer Dafnis Prieto as one of twenty-two new MacArthur Fellows for 2011. The award is worth $500,000 and is dis- tributed quarterly over five years. The MacArthur Fellowship, unoffi- cially known as the “genius grant,” comes with no restrictions on spending, as it is designed to encourage future creativity. Prieto says that the award would provide him the freedom to focus on his own music, including an album with his Proverb Trio, and a book about drumming.

The Pearl Corporation and the Make-A-Wish Foundation recently partnered in hosting nineteen-year-old drummer and cancer survivor Ben Hines at Pearl’s headquarters in Nashville. Hines and his family toured the facilities, met the staff, and witnessed the unveiling of Ben’s brand-new custom Masterworks kit.

Twisted Sister drummer A.J. Pero was recently named the national spokesman for Fallen Blue, an organization founded to honor and help the families of police officers who have been killed outside the line of duty.

OUT NOW NEWS ON TOUR WHO’S PLAYING WHAT with /// Dennis Chambers with Santana /// Daniel Williams with the Devil Wears Prada /// Ringo Garza with Los Lonely Boys /// Wuv with P.O.D. /// Robin Diaz with Daughtry /// Richard Beasley with /// Walfredo Reyes Jr. with Lindsey Buckingham /// John McEntire with the Sea and Cake /// Gregory Hutchinson with /// Brant Bjork with Kyuss /// Michael Lindsay with Andy Grammer /// Donald Barrett with Colbie Caillat /// Jeff Friedl with Puscifer

OUT NOW NEWS ON TOUR WHO’S PLAYING WHAT (Beck, ) is playing Vater sticks. His model of choice is the wood-tip Jazz. /// A.D. Adams (Louis Prima Jr.) is using Vic Firth sticks. /// Paiste has added Chris Tyrrell (Luke Bryan), Jamie Rogan (Billy Currington), Patrik Heikinpieti (Mando Diao), and Kenny Bernard (Ra Ra Riot) to its artist roster. /// Mike McPhee is playing Johnny Rabb sticks. ASK A PRO GIMMEGIMME 1010! SCOTT UNDERWOOD GIMME 10! Interview by Rick Long Yes, having a successful career in music takes skill, but Train’s drummer suggests it also takes guts. Here he GIMMurgesE 1 us0 !to be more daring acrossGI MtheM board.E 10!

1 DARE2 TO3 CHALLENGE YOURSELF. band forming in San 10 I played in my high school jazz bandGI forMMEFrancisco10! called Train. a4 year and5 a half.6 A friend of mine who played They needed bass and in a band and the jazz band had drums, so we moved out quit7 high8 school,9 and they called me and 1 to2 California3 to join Train. GIMMEasked10 if! I would come play in the jazz band.10 I couldn’t read music, but the instructor really 4 5 DARE6 TO BE GIMME 10! liked my feel, so he was willing to overlook SERIOUS. the fact that I couldn’t read the charts. He said 7 Everyone8 9 in Train was GIMMEwe’d10 just! figure the songs out. TheG bandIM actu-ME 10serious! about it. We’d all ally won several awards during that time. been in bands where one GIMME 10! or two guys were really thought it would be. I developed a side pro- 1 2 DARE3 TO BE WHO YOU ARE.GI MwentM toE 10into! it and the others just weren’t dedicated. 1 2 3 10 college and didn’t really know what I We were all like-minded about Train.GI WeM1 gaveM0 E 10ject! called Food Pill, and at some point I may do something more with that. ME 140wanted!5 6 to do. I dropped out a couple of ourselves no other option but that this band 4 5 6 times, and I tried new majors. The whole time1 2 would3 work out. 7 I was8 doing9 that, I was playing in bands10 and GIMME 170!8 DARE9 TO BE CREATIVE. You need to doing gigs. I finally realized that I wasn’t good4 5 6 DARE TO GO THE DISTANCE. At first, learn , guitar, or some other ME 10at! holding a job and I didn’t like college, but I as far as drumming was concerned, the melodic instrument and also learn Pro Tools. could play gigs and was pretty good at that.7 8 music9 we were playing in Train wasn’t that1 2 When3 I write a piece of music, I’m very struc- technical. I wasn’t getting much attention,10 so I tured about the verses, chorus, bridge…and I 1 2 DARE TO FORGE YOUR OWN STYLE. GIMthoughtME 1 0I’d !step things up a bit. But in the4 end 5 think6 that’s the drummer in me. GIMM3E Not10 being! heavily instructed, I devel- what really mattered was the song. Pat 4 5 oped6 my own approach to drumming. It [Monahan, vocals] is so good at songwriting7 8 G9IMDAREME 1TO0 TAKE! TIME FOR FAMILY. might not be technically profound, but I GIMthatME it became10! a challenge for me to come up I have two kids, and I bring them out on 7 G8IMbelieveM9E in a drummer working on his or her with just the right part to fit the tunes. We all the road with me occasionally. They’re great to own style.10 I may! hold the drumsticks incor- started realizing that we needed each other. I haveGIM around.ME 1 It’s0 a! challenge with the traveling, rectly because I’m not formally trained, but it’s think it’s that sense of knowing we need each so about two weeks is probably a good limit. a style that works for me. other1 and2 appreciate3 each other that makes 1 2 3 10 1 2 3 10 Save4 Me,5 San 6Francisco such a great record. 1010 DARE TO TRAVEL TO DISTANT 4 DARE5 TO6 MOVE ACROSS THE COUN- LANDS.4 5New6 Zealand and are TRY. After my trials with college, I 7 DARE8 TO9 TRY SOMETHING NEW. big for us. We’re playing in China in February. moved7 8to .9 I started playing in bands [During a hiatus from touring with We are literally7 8 going9 all over the world. with a bunch of from . Train] I went to L.A. and tried to get into the This one guy was telling me that there was a session world. That was way harder than I

In February 2005, MD asked jazz vet Ben Riley, who’d done classic work with Back and Sonny Rollins, among many others, about playing the Through the BEN RILEY fast tempos of the Johnny Griffin/Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis Tough Tenors sessions. Stack Ben: When we played that fast it ago [August 2004 MD], he commented on how jazz got to the point where I would musicians don’t play as many fast tempos as they not look at my hands. I just had to used to back in the bop or post-bop days. Ben: For one thing, it’s very difficult! [laughs] And Paul La Raia beef up mentally and not think about the . Actually, play- with the freeform way of playing that most groups ing with singers got me accus- use today, playing very fast tempos would be like tomed to singing melodies to going to war. You’d be clashing, because no one myself. When I played very fast person is seemingly responsible for the time. like that, I would always keep Everybody is contributing their idea of what the the melody in my mind so I wouldn’t be thinking song is supposed to be rather than keeping time. about the tempo. We used to do the same thing, but we would always MD: When we spoke to Bill Stewart a few months mark beat 1 so everybody knew where we were.

16 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012

IT’S QUESTIONABLE

CLEANING CLEAR KITS I own a 2010 clear Ludwig Vistalite kit. Can you tem, which contains a fine scratch remover (#2), a advise me on what to use to clean the shells and heavy scratch remover (#3), and a spray polish (#1), all how to get out some scratches? formulated specifically for acrylic plastics. Dave Nilsson “All plastic polishes should be applied with a microfiber cloth or a well-worn cotton cloth, like an old According to MD Shop Talk columnist and drum repair/ T-shirt. Shop rags that are carried in most hardware restoration specialist J.R. Frondelli, “There are several stores are not of a finishing grade and often contain preparations formulated to clean and refresh acrylic abrasive contamination, which will create a worse situ- plastic, which is what Vistalites are made of. My personal ation than the one you started with. favorite is Meguiar’s PlastX, a one-step cleaner/polish “Anyone who owns acrylic or even wrapped drums that removes fine scratches and haze and, in most should keep a bottle of Novus #1 spray polish handy, cases, restores shine. Meguiar’s also makes products as it quickly and easily cleans surface dirt and restores specifically formulated for restoring optical clarity to the luster to all shiny plastic surfaces, as well as plated auto headlight lenses, and these items would be suit- hardware, leaving behind a microscopic protective sili- able for use on acrylic plastics as well. cone finish. I’ve used this product with great success “For deeper scratches, there’s the Novus 1, 2, 3 sys- for over twenty years.”

DRUMMERS AND COPYRIGHTS

If a drummer writes the drum part to a “Generally speaking, publishing royalties ing credits and inclusion on the copyright. song, is he or she entitled to any portion are available only to those who own the “In the absence of a separate agreement of the publishing rights, or does all of copyright of a piece of music. U.S. copy- among the copyright owners, the publish- the credit go to whoever wrote the right law, in very general terms, recognizes ing royalties would then be split evenly. and melody? only the melody and lyrics as being worthy That split, though, can always be negotiated Scott Miller of copyright. As a general proposition, by the copyright owners, and if the writer of therefore, a drummer who writes the drum the melody and lyrics does not think you We sent your question to entertainment part to a song does not share in the pub- deserve an equal share, he or she and you law attorney Paul Quin, who’s a drummer lishing rights. There are, of course, excep- can negotiate a smaller percentage for you. himself and has represented many drum- tions where the drum part is so integral to In band situations, that can often be mers in the music industry. “This is really the song that it warrants payment of a roy- accomplished as long as you’re dealing the million-dollar question and one that alty. In truth, however, this is very hard to with reasonable folks. At the session level, goes to the heart of what most drummers establish once the song has been submit- however, this is much harder to do and do and what most drummers want,” Quin ted for copyright absent the drummer’s often depends upon the ‘name’ of the ses- says. “As always, however, remember that name, and often it can be established only sion drummer and the industry clout in every situation is different and that you by consent or through litigation—an proportion to the artist with whom the should find a lawyer to address your specific expense that should usually be avoided. drummer is recording. Work on the musi- case. Accordingly, the following informa- Here, your best option would be to try to cians you record with, to have them accept tion does not constitute legal advice as it persuade the other that your your contribution as something worthy of a pertains to your particular situation. contribution warrants inclusion in the writ- writing credit. Good luck!”

18 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012

PRODUCT CLOSE-UP

DW Performance Series Drumset by J.R. Frondelli

tarting out in 1972 as founder Don Lombardi’s batter heads and Clear Ambassador bottoms. The Steaching studio, Drum Workshop became an offi- snare has a CS Coated Reverse Dot batter and an cial company when Lombardi, looking to subsidize his Ambassador bottom. The kick, which offered a big yet business, began selling accessories and hired one of his controlled studio sound out of the box, is supplied students, John Good, to assist with sales. Shortly there- with a Clear Powerstroke 3 batter and a vented logo after, Lombardi dreamed up their first product: the front head, as well as a factory-installed DW muffling Drum Workshop height-adjustable trap-case seat, a pillow. If you don’t want a controlled kick sound, you product still on offer today, albeit in an updated form. can simply remove the pillow. When the Camco Drum Company placed an order for a hundred seats, Lombardi knew he had a sellable SOUNDS LIKE? product. In 1977, Camco offered to sell Lombardi its Once I had everything set up, I tweaked all of the drum manufacturing business, and the DW Drum drums and got them in tune with each other. This Company was born. Since then, DW has clawed its way process was ridiculously easy, thanks to the True-Pitch to the top of the food chain as an American classic and tension rods (which have a 30 percent increase in a privately owned firm. threads per inch when compared with standard rods), Recently the company went back to the drawing precision bearing edges, and high-quality drumheads. board to figure out how to offer an American-made These drums were ultra-responsive and tunable over drumkit with the now-legendary DW name and the a wide range, and they possessed an excellent balance same attention to detail as the flagship Collector’s of bottom and attack, with stellar clarity. What’s really series, but priced much more affordably. The result is cool is how the kit sounded as a unit, even with the the Performance series. pillow installed in the . It had that great This line is not just a knockoff of its pricier in-the-middle tonality that records and mikes well brethren. It was conceived from the ground up as a while occupying its own space without stepping on completely different series, with subtle changes in anything else. We can only assume this is due to the appearance (such as minor logo and badge tweaks) unique HVX shell design. and a new tonal flavor utilizing DW’s HVX shell tech- Even though I described the sound of the nology, which is a combination of horizontal-, diago- Performance series as being in the middle, don’t mis- nal-, and vertical-grain plies to yield drums that favor construe that as meaning mediocre in any way. In medium-low pitches. every respect the line is up to the same sonic and build-quality standards as the Collector’s series. WHAT’S THE SCOOP? Think of it as another wonderful flavor on DW’s vast The Performance series kit sent for review consisted of menu. The company simply employed some rudimen- an 18x22 bass drum, 8x10 and 9x12 rack toms, a 12x14 tary economics to make the series more affordable. 1 floor tom, and a 5 /2x14 . The lugs on the Smaller lugs, for instance, cost less to manufacture toms and kick are unique to the Performance line and and weigh less for shipping, while limited finish and are quarter-size versions of DW’s Collector’s series tur- configuration options mean that fewer manufacturing ret lugs. The snare has a unique yet classy double- logistics are involved. round lug design that almost looks like a tube lug. The The Performance line is available in finish on this kit is “black mirra,” a subtle yet striking five lacquer finishes (black mirra, look consisting of sparsely dispersed holographic white ice, sapphire blue, cherry metal flakes over black lacquer, all buffed to a mirror stain, and ebony stain) and shine. When light hits the etched flakes, you see glitter- three finish-ply wraps ing reflections against the black background. This is (white marine, black one of DW’s trademark finishes, and it’s a beauty that diamond, and elicits oohs and aahs from all who see it. titanium The toms are equipped with DW/Remo Coated/Clear sparkle). Two shell packs are EXPLAINED ON FILM offered, and two All of the technology and thought processes snare drums and involved in bringing the Performance series to seven add-on toms can be pur- fruition are contained in the Welcome to DW DVD chased separately, making it easy to build included with each kit. DW vice president John Good, an affordable dream kit. The list price for a five- ably assisted by the eminent drummer John “JR” piece Performance shell pack is $3,667.98. Robinson, walks viewers through shell construction, dwdrums.com hardware and finish details, and tuning, plus there are • some killer playing demonstrations by Robinson.

20 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012 January 2012 • MODERN DRUMMER 21 paiste Twenty Masters Collection

by Michael Dawson

aiste’s Twenty series cymbals were Pfirst released in 2007 and have since become favorites among drummers of all types for their clean yet warm tones. These cymbals, which are made with B20 bronze, are forged in Turkey and are then processed in Paiste’s Swiss facility. For the Twenty Masters Collection, Paiste integrated ideas from many of its top endorsers to create eleven ride cym- bal models, each of which has a unique sound without tipping the balance between Turkish-style complexity and crystalline Swiss sonority too far in either than the Medium models. This resulted in hand, had a firm yet silky feel with a direction. We were sent a sample of the a softer feel and a smoky, breathy tone. super-clean stick sound, a deep and entire collection for review. These are the “jazz” cymbals of the group, pleasing bell, and very smooth and with a sound closer to that of classic brilliant overtones. This cymbal, which 20" AND 21" MEDIUM RIDES Turkish-made cymbals than regular was developed in cooperation with the We begin with the 20" and 21" Masters Twenty series models. The stick sound on European jazz great André Ceccarelli, Collection Medium rides. These were the the 20" and 22" Dark rides remained clear embodies the airy, intimate vibe of most all-purpose cymbals of the bunch, and articulate, but the overtones opened classic ECM records. It really excelled in and as such they provided a good foun- up much more easily and the bells were the lower dynamic range, but it also dation from which to compare the more less pronounced and more integrated. sounded great when played a bit more extreme variations in the series. The Again, the 20" ($678) was a bit washier aggressively in a hard-bop context. If the Medium rides are medium in weight and and more aggressive sounding, while the 20" Dark crash ride is akin to the tense, had a great balance of stick articulation 22" ($798) was a little darker and drier. dissonant sound of an altered dominant and warm, even wash with a lot of har- chord, the Sweet ride has the ethereal monic overtones. The bell sounds were 20" DARK CRASH RIDE feel of a major nine. strong and fairly bright. These cymbals AND 20" SWEET RIDE could easily work in most contemporary The 20" Dark crash ride ($678) is very thin 20" AND 22" DARK CRISP RIDES musical styles, as well as in big bands. If and had a wobbly feel and a dark and The Dark Crisp rides have hammer mark- you’re looking for a single ride to cover it raspy voice. The stick definition was sur- ings similar to those on the Dark rides, all, one of these could be a great choice. prisingly clear, and the cymbal opened but they are considerably heavier in The 20" ($678) had a slightly more promi- up instantly with a big, trashy crash when weight. As a result, they had a pro- nent wash, while the 21" ($740) was more struck on the edge. This model could be nounced stick sound and a clear bell defined and lower in pitch. used for explosive accents or for an alter- tone, but with a fairly dark, complex, and nate ride source when you want a groove controlled wash. These were the moodi- 20" AND 22" DARK RIDES to burn at a lower dynamic. It also est cymbals of the series, and they The Twenty Masters series Dark rides are responded very well to mallet rolls. seemed most appropriate for darker and thinner and more extensively hammered The 20" Sweet ride ($678), on the other more aggressive playing styles, à la Josh 24" DEEP RIDE 20" AND 21" DARK DRY RIDES SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE? The 20" and 21" Dark Dry rides ($678 In Paiste’s marketing brochure for the This heavy ride had a big, bold voice, just like and $740, respectively) were the most Twenty Masters Collection, the company the artist who helped design it, John “JR” distinctive-looking models in the collec- claims that “Every cymbal [is] a master- Robinson. If you need an extra-strong-sounding tion. They feature alternating bands of piece: Experience them to find your own.” ride that delivers a wide beat, this is one to lathing and unfinished bronze from the As long as your tastes lean toward the check out. The stick “ping” was very pro- edge to the bell on the top of the cymbal, warm, rich tones of Turkish-style cymbals, nounced, the bell was strong and powerful, and with a smooth sandblasted surface on the there’s likely a sound or two in this series the sustain was warm and long. This cymbal bottom. The stick sound was woody and that will inspire you to further check out responded best when played with larger sticks, silvery, and the sustain was dark and the line, whether you’re looking for some- and it could handle very loud strokes without slightly muted. Fusion, R&B, modern jazz, thing nice and all-purpose, complex and washing out. List price is $898. and studio drummers will love these cym- trashy, dark and articulate, or more indi- bals for their super-quick and dry stick vidualized, like Ceccarelli’s airy Sweet ride Freese with the art rockers . attack, funky bell sound, and controlled, or JR Robinson’s boisterous Deep ride. To The Dark Crisp rides ($678 for the 20" and complex wash. Shoulder strikes brought hear these cymbals in action, log on to $798 for the 22") could also be a great out a cool harmonic burst that died down moderndrummer.com. choice for drummers who want a complex quickly and evenly. These cymbals made paiste.com sound with a strong stick attack. me want to play a lot of notes. •

ahead

Armor Cases by Michael Dawson

head is best known for its durable syn- calls DX-Core technology, which Athetic drumsticks, but the brand con- involves an interior lining of soft and tinues to expand in very smart ways. A few plush Sherpa fleece, two layers of years back Ahead released some fantastic foam padding in the middle, and a snare drums, followed by cool practice double-stitched 600-denier exterior pads, including versions with snare effects fabric that’s strong yet flexible and is and one with a built-in metronome. likely to withstand years Recently Ahead collaborated with fellow of rigorous touring accessory manufacturer Revolution Drum abuse. Armor to create Armor Cases, an innovative line Cases are also of gig bags that are durable and weather waterproof, resistant and offer a better fit. We were so you don’t sent a four-piece set (kick, snare, rack tom, have to and floor tom) to check out for review. worry about your drums TRUFORM TEARDROP SHAPE getting Each Armor case has a unique teardrop waterlogged shape, which was devised to accommo- while you’re date various types of mounting hardware, loading into including bulky suspension systems, while and out of gigs still providing a snug fit. Back in 1997, in the rain. The car- when I ordered cases for my Premier Signia rying handles, which run vertically on the kit, I was extremely frustrated when I dis- tom and kick drum cases and horizontally covered that the drums wouldn’t fit in on the snare cases, are big, soft, and them very easily. I either had to exchange securely stitched. the cases for ones that were a size up or deal with forcing the bags to zip up around DYNAZIP SYSTEM cases do not run vertically, but the tip of the tom mounts. Ahead/Revolution’s In addition to their perfect-fit TruForm the teardrop is made of flexible fabric so TruForm design alleviates that problem shape and super-durable DX-Core con- that the lid can open widely.) entirely. We tested the tom case using an struction, Armor Cases also have a unique I’ve tried all types of hard cases, soft 11x14 Fibes fiberglass rack tom with a zipper system that travels not only around cases, and gig bags, and I can honestly Gauger RIMS mount, which is one of the the circumference of the drum but also say that these are among the most effi- larger suspension systems currently on vertically (tom and bass drum models only) cient, sturdy, and intelligently designed the market. The drum slid in easily, and at the tip of the teardrop. This system models I’ve come across. Highly recom- the case zipped up with no problem. allows the case to open up more fully— mended. Prices range from $49.50 for without collapsing—so that a drum can be a 7x8 tom case to $226.50 for a 22x26 DX-CORE DURABILITY taken out and put back in very quickly and bass drum case. Armor Cases are made with what Ahead easily. (The zippers on Armor snare drum bigbangdist.com • Latin Percussion Stanton Moore Pandeiro and Hi-Hat Shekere by David Ciauro

atin Percussion recently teamed up vide a fat ballad backbeat, a snare alterna- ture pandeiro comes with a carry bag and Lwith two of its most prolific artists, tive, or a colorful accent within a groove. lists for $149. drumset specialist Stanton Moore and What really blew my mind was what I percussionist Michael Spiro, to create a pair heard when I miked the pandeiro from HI-HAT SHEKERE of specialty instruments. Let’s check out underneath. I ran an AKG D112 kick drum Michael Spiro collaborated with LP to cre- each one. mic through a small bass amp, and I ate a shekere that mounts on a hi-hat stand couldn’t get over what an intense impact it to create a gritty, chunky texture with the STANTON MOORE PANDEIRO made. The pandeiro not only sounded like hi-hat foot. The silty chomp of the shekere New Orleans funk drummer Stanton Moore a floor tom, it had more punch than my sounds half traditional and half modern, worked with LP to develop a signature pan- compact kit’s 18" bass drum. thanks to the large netted beads that sur- deiro that emulates the sounds commonly The Stanton Moore pandeiro is solidly round the fiberglass gourd. heard in Mardi Gras Indian music and that constructed with a heavy-duty bracket and Three large hi-hat felts are included to 3 1 also withstands repeated tribal stomps. In fits /8" to /2" mounting rods. It can also fit prevent the shekere from bottoming out Moore’s words, his pandeiro “sounds like a in most snare baskets for an alternate during operation. The hi-hat shekere is a floor tom with jingles.” mounting option. Another interesting use cool idea, and the product worked quite The 12" drum with a 2" wood frame looks for the pandeiro is placing it upside down well, but it’s reserved for particular playing quite ordinary, and I was having a difficult on the snare drum. This will automatically situations, like quieter acoustic perfor- time digesting the idea that this could ever drop the pitch of the drum and produce a mances where you’re backing up a singer- sound anything like a floor tom. Outfitted denser snare sound to fatten up grooves. on cajon or a hybrid drumset/ with a Remo Coated Emperor head, the The 2" frame made me focus on accuracy, percussion setup. Unless you have ample drum produced a surprisingly deep and I found that switching to traditional time between songs during a live set, it acoustic sound. The seven sets of jingles grip helped me get a more consistent back- wouldn’t be practical to repeatedly swap were pleasantly present but did not over- beat with less chance of striking the frame. out your hi-hat cymbals for the shekere. power the low end. A thud was the promi- The only hiccup is that the tuning key is (The two can’t be used simultaneously.) If nent sonic focal point, especially when the not a standard drum key. Drum keys seem space allows, however, you can always set eight tuning rods were detuned to their to disappear on me at an alarming rate, so I up a second hi-hat stand to mount the lowest point without losing tone. This cre- was a bit worried by the prospect of having shekere and get the best of both worlds. ated a great sonic texture that meshed well a drum on my kit that requires a unique List price: $175. with a drumkit and could be used to pro- key. (Don’t lose that thing!) Stanton’s signa- lpmusic.com

24 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012

ELECTRONIC REVIEW

enough for just about any recording pro- ject, and it will change the way sessions are run for users who rely on smaller lap- top systems. Want to triple-track your drums? No problem! For advanced users, Pro Tools has sim- plified the I/O (in/out) settings option to make it much easier to route channels to different pieces of hardware via the new Output Bus, without having to change the original I/O setup. There are many options for headphone mixes and multi- ple output mixes, so grab the manual and check ’em out. Automatic Delay Compensation keeps the timing of your session locked in by compensating for the delays caused by the addition of plug-ins to your individual tracks. When you exceed the maximum compensation, the track view turns red. You can also mix audio file formats and bit depths in the same session, and the soft- ware supports 32-bit formats for higher- resolution recording.

BEAT DETECTIVE avid The most helpful tool for drummers in Pro Pro Tools Tools, the time-correcting plug-in Beat Detective, now supports multitrack edit- by Butch Jones ing. Earlier versions of Beat Detective required users to purchase the Music s a longtime Pro Tools user, I was opened without any problems, as did my Production Toolkit in order to edit multi- Aexcited to get the chance to check Digi 002 and Mbox2 hardware. Despite ple tracks, so a lot of users relied on out the new version of the software from the many strengths of previous versions another Pro Tools function, called Elastic Avid, and the experience has been quite of Pro Tools, one of the biggest drags was Audio, for multichannel drum edits. Elastic rewarding. In today’s economic crunch, needing to have a Pro Tools–verified Audio has the capability of stretching many of us can’t afford the higher-end interface connected at all times. So I have audio files to adjust note placement. The HD/TDM or HD Native Pro Tools systems. to admit that with the new version I got problem with stretching audio files, Our only option prior to the release of Pro pretty excited when I unplugged the though, is that it can degrade the quality Tools 9 last year was to purchase a Pro hardware, opened a session, and played of the sound. Elastic Audio will continue Tools LE or M-Powered system, which back my recordings while relaxing on to be used for its many features, especially enabled us to work with the award- the couch. in editing a single audio file. But drum- winning audio recording/editing software mers will really dig this new version of at an affordable price but with limited NEW FEATURES Beat Detective when they’re looking functionality. The new features of Pro Session sizes in Pro Tools have been to adjust and/or correct timing issues Tools bring us much closer to the full- increased to 96 audio tracks, 64 instru- in multitrack recordings. scale Pro Tools HD systems, and the soft- ment tracks, 512 MIDI tracks, 256 busses, Pro Tools also comes with an MP3 ware works with any ASIO or Core Audio and 160 aux tracks. This is more than bounce function, which used to cost digital audio interface, so we’re no longer forced to use only Avid hardware.

LOADING IT UP Installing the three discs of content for Pro Tools took twenty minutes. Minimum system requirements are Snow Leopard (10.6.7 or later) for Mac and Windows 7 for PC. The software comes with some plug-ins (effects) and numerous virtual synths, and the third disc contains various audio loops in different folders catego- rized by genre. All of my preexisting plug-ins that ran with Pro Tools 8.04 reinstalled and

Drum tracks before (left) and after (right) being sliced and snapped to the grid using Beat Detective.

26 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012 DON’T LOSE YOUR iLOK more with earlier versions, and you can While you don’t need to carry around a export mixes directly to SoundCloud. bulky interface to run Pro Tools 9, the program does require an iLok USB key to TEST DRIVE be plugged in at all times. So when you’re I decided to record some real drums at a looking to edit some recordings from the friend’s home studio so we could take a road, don’t forget your iLok, and be careful not to damage it. closer look at Beat Detective. After recording about twenty bars to a click track, we were about six mouse clicks. Saying that Beat we started playback, we discovered that ready to give it a go. In less than two Detective makes drum editing easy is an Pro Tools had just created a tempo map minutes, we completely quantized and understatement, as what would normally that followed our badly timed (on purpose) smoothed out the eight tracks of drums that take hours to accomplish manually was com- drum track perfectly. This is a great feature were purposely played off the click—and pleted in mere minutes. when you record without a click but then you couldn’t even tell they had been edited! We came upon another great function of want the option to be able to lock in MIDI Here’s how it works. After opening Beat Beat Detective accidentally. When we first sequences (like keyboard parts or drum Detective from the Event tab, there are three tried to use the plug-in, we had mistakenly loops) after tracking live. How cool is that? windows, labeled Operation, Selection, and selected the Marker Generation option, List price: $699. Detection. The Operation window lets you and after the processing completed and avid.com choose whether you’ll be working with audio or MIDI and shows the processing choices. The Selection window is for picking the bars you wish to work with, setting the time sig- nature and the for the portion you’re quantizing. Once you’ve set up how you want Beat Detective to analyze the audio, you go through the three stages listed in the Operation window: Region Separation (ana- lyze and set markers for separation), Region Conform (snap sliced regions to the grid), and Edit Smoothing (fill spaces and add crossfades). After making the proper selec- tions, we had a perfectly locked-in track after

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MODERN DRUMMER • Yellowcard’s LONGINEU PARSONS III January 2012 4 7

5 6 3 8 9

C F

1 D

B 2 E

A Interview by John Martinez • Photos by Alex Solca

Drums: Tama Starclassic Bubinga in custom gets a cannon kind of feel. black sparkle finish “I reversed my floor toms, which lets me A. 4x13 Metalworks steel snare get a lot more creative with my fills. It opens Hardware: Tama, including Road Pro kind of dampener. You get that dead funk 1 B. 6 /2x14 snare you up to a whole other page of ideas. My stands (with Embark weights attached to tone, but you also get a lot of body and soul. C. 7x12 tom floor toms are deeper, because I like to get the bottom of each tripod), an Ergo-Rider The EMAD Onyx kick drum head has a lot of D. 16x18 floor tom that deep funk tone but still maintain just hydraulic throne, and a Speed Cobra bass power. It’s real thumpy and has a deep tone.” E. 16x16 floor tom a little bit of ring so it carries almost like an drum pedal with wood beater

January 2012 F. 20x22 bass drum 808 sub.” “This Speed Cobra pedal has great speed Drumsticks: Pro-Mark Longineu Parsons III Not shown: 6x14 Starphonic brass snare and comfort, and it’s smooth on the foot. It Autograph series “I grew up playing funk, rock, jazz, fusion, Cymbals: Zildjian has a longer footboard, which allows for a lot punk, metal—you know, all of it,” Parsons 1. 15" A Custom Rezo hi-hats of technique.” Percussion: Roselynn signature cajon • MODERN DRUMMER says. “So I needed a very versatile kit that I 2. 10" K Custom Dark splash could take on gigs and record with different 3. 17" K Custom Hybrid crash Heads: Evans Onyx snare and tom batters, Electronics: Ultimate Ears in-ear monitors, projects. I use a 12" tom, which is versatile, 4. 18" K Custom Hybrid crash Hazy 300 snare bottoms, EC Resonant 12" Audix microphones because I can turn around and use it on a jazz 5. 9" K Custom Hybrid splash and 16" tom bottoms, Coated G1 18" tom “I also have a Blowit clamp-on-style fan gig, or I can play it on a rock or a funk gig and 6. 22" A Custom Ping ride bottom, and EMAD Onyx bass drum batter that goes on my right side to keep me cool. it’s all there. I have a 20x22 kick drum. I was 7. 19" K Custom Hybrid crash “The reason I use Black Onyx heads on And that’s it.” using a 24" for a while, but I feel you get a lot 8. 19" K Custom Hybrid China everything, including the kick drum, is 31 more attack out of a 22", and the 20" depth 9. 20" A Custom China because they allow you to not rely on any PORTRAITS Scott Hansen

NAVENE KOPERWEIS Animals as Leaders’ drummer is at the forefront of a movement where playing and programming mesh in remarkably bold and complex ways. by Ken Micallef

nimals as Leaders’ self-titled debut video rendition of the group’s “Tempting “Absolutely not,” Navene replies. “I went Afeatured the band’s innovative Time”—and then took the concept into by the melodic phrase and the feel. I am “”-based style, meshing manic odd the stratosphere. used to playing songs that are much time signatures, metal-meets-prog guitar “Tosin definitely wanted my drumming more complicated and have more parts. I aggression, and drums as dangerously to sound like the album,” Koperweis knew the song structures, so it was a mat- twisting as a tornado. But the album’s explains from , , while ter of perfecting each part—that was the biggest surprise was that the drumming on tour with AAL. “So did I. That’s why I hardest part. There’s so much going on wasn’t drumming. Programmed by engi- worked hard on the programmed drums, within each section, multiple odd time neer , the thundering which have such intensity and high veloc- signatures and . It’s nuts. It’s comprised hits sampled from ity. I wanted to make sure that intensity hard to understand at first.” Toontrack’s Drumkit From Hell. Ferocious was there in my playing. Tosin gave me Given the complexity of AAL’s music and complex, the album raised the bar on the first album when it was done, so I had and the speed-demon compression of the possibilities of drum programming. been listening to it for a year already. But the rhythms, Koperweis practiced by When the twenty-six-year-old former I hadn’t played odd signatures before. I playing along with the basic tracks—and Animosity drummer Navene Koperweis like challenges, so I joined Animals as Leaders, not only did practiced everything he have to replicate the hyperdrive beats for a couple weeks. TOOLS OF THE TRADE 1 of that 2009 recording, but he also had to When there was a Koperweis plays a Tama Superstar Hyper-Drive set with 6 /2x10 find a way to stamp the music with his tricky part, I would and 7x12 toms, a 14x16 floor tom, a 20x22 bass drum, and a 6x13 own signature. Given his muscular metal chart out the kick snare. His Meinl cymbals include a 21" Byzance Traditional history and accomplished programming and snare pattern.” Medium ride, 15" Byzance Brilliant Heavy hi-hats, two 18" Byzance skills, Koperweis was the perfect fit for Did he count the Brilliant Chinas, a 20" Byzance Brilliant Medium crash, and a 14" this ultimate man-machine music. The odd time signatures Mb10 Soundwave hi-hat top stacked on a 16" Soundcaster Fusion drummer passed guitarist ’s to make them easier China. He uses a Tama Speed Cobra pedal, and his electronics audition by performing a note-perfect to perform? include a MacBook with QuickTime for audio and video.

32 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012

NAVENE KOPERWEIS

he has never stopped. “I practiced to the and dazzling programming skills. A joint gram or play beats. It’s seamlessly songs with the drum tracks running like composer with Abasi and credited as arranged and then rammed through the training wheels,” he says. “After I got that the album’s producer, Koperweis wrote Drumkit From Hell software. I did play a down, I played with the tracks without original drum tracks in Cubase, then repli- lot on the electronic kit, but sometimes drums. I still play to those tracks to this cated or added to the rhythms as needed. I’d program a part, because then I’m not day on stage. I play to a click, a synth The result is a flawless interface of live restricted to what I can play in the track, a bass track, and sometimes a gui- and programmed drumming. moment. And it’s a lot faster to not [play tar track. I like the comfort of the click and “We used Cubase to write the MIDI,” the drum tracks] right off the bat. It’s a hearing the same tracks every night. The Navene explains, “and I use a Yamaha weird, futuristic way of making music. It’s material was really hard in the beginning, electronic kit with the Toontrack Drumkit 60/40 programmed/live drums. Every so I needed a security blanket, something From Hell as the samples. You’re able to song has a mixture. And I never program to follow no matter what. So I still use play beyond your abilities [this way]. anything I can’t actually play.” them, though I don’t have them as loud We’re using MIDI. It’s not audio; we Such Weightless material as “Cylindrical in my mix now.” manipulate it and run it through the Sea,” “Odessa,” “To Lead You to an The trio’s latest album, Weightless, Toontrack software. I can play a bunch of Overwhelming Question,” and the sting- proves Koperweis’s drumming prowess fills and put them where I want, then pro- ing title track confuse the drumming mind. Segments of the songs flow and resonate with the relative assurance of live drumming—the space between strikes is natural and effortless, lacking the typically compressed sound of sam- pled drums. Elsewhere, and often on the same track, bass drum hits and snare smacks sound too cold, calculated, and perfect to be entirely human. But beyond the musicians themselves who’s to really know what’s what? “All the songs have the same idea,” Koperweis says. “They all went through the same process and have a similar ratio of live versus programmed drums. To me it’s all ideas anyway. If I program it on the e-kit or play it live, there will be no differ- ence to the music. I’m sure a lot of people are against it, but come see us live. There’s more impact.” Koperweis’s goal is to integrate the influence of his electronic heroes Skrillex, Noisia, and Deadmau5 with his bionic drumming skills. “I’m also focusing on placing fills where they are not obvious, not at the end of a bar,” Navene says. “And since I adapted those original Animals programmed beats to my own style, now I can write like that. The pro- grammed drums from the Animals’ first CD are a huge influence and a big part of the reason I play the way I do, in that gray area between drumming and program- ming. If I didn’t learn those original parts I wouldn’t play this way today.” Currently working on his debut CD as an electronic artist, Koperweis believes that “People are ready to hear music with a lot of complexity—complex melody even. Animosity was straightforward metal. Animals’ music is slower, so I can focus more on each individual hit. And having a production focus, I always con- centrate on what I’m playing, that the hits are even. Then I pay more attention to the fills because I’m being more selective when I play them.”

34 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012

CoAaronmess Story by Robin Tolleson Photos by Paul La Raia

It’s been twenty years since the Spin Doctors embedded themselves in the recesses of our ears with hits like “Two Princes,” “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong,” and “Jimmy Olsen’s Blues.” Turns out those gloriously grooving performances represent but one side of this well-traveled drummer’s career.

ith his combination of tech- school together in . “I love inventive taught Aaron traditional grip and insisted nique, intuition, and inquisitive- drummers who sound relaxed and play- that he play on the practice pad for two W ness, Aaron Comess has crafted ful,” the singer says. “I’m really moved by years to learn the fundamentals before exactly the type of career he dreamed of that, because the player takes you on a moving to the drumkit. In high school as a young drummer. As a founding mem- ride that you can feel isn’t cliché. Aaron is Comess began studying with Henry ber of the Spin Doctors, who are currently a smart, thinking drummer with amazing Okstel, a professor at North Texas State celebrating the twentieth anniversary of feel and intuition—or connection—and University (later renamed the University their breakout album, Pocket Full of it’s a privilege to play and record with of North Texas). “He helped me with big Kryptonite, he savors the closeness of a him. He’s a beautiful soul, and he makes band interpretation and reading charts,” band situation. As a drummer for hire me sound better, lots better, than I would Comess says, “which set up everything for with Joan Osborne, , James without him.” me in terms of learning how to interpret Maddock, and New York Electric Piano, he As a child, Comess took advantage of songs, and that’s what I really love to gets to enjoy the challenges associated solid music programs in the Dallas public do—try to make whatever I’m doing, with high-level recording sessions. And as schools, starting on piano in first grade. regardless of the style, sound great. a solo artist, he’s able to present his own Later he attended a performing arts high Learning that big band interpretation— unique musical vision; his recently school, where he studied theory and setting up sections and hits—was a great released second album as a leader, played drums in big bands, small combos, lesson early on. Beautiful Mistake, is a breathtaking pro- and orchestras. “We were playing music “We were doing advanced stuff,” gressive, instrumental, roots-rock collec- every day with other musicians, having Aaron continues. “Henry showed me a tion that showcases a musical approach jam sessions after school and on week- hundred ways to use the to the kit, powerful stick work, and a ends,” he recalls. “I was lucky to be able to book, and he had me doing Pete strong songwriting sense. play music with people, because ulti- Magadini’s Poly-Cymbal Time book. He Edie Brickell has followed Comess’s mately that’s what it’s all about.” got me into the polyrhythmic thing and drumming since the two were in high Comess’s first teacher, Jack Iden, understanding rhythms over the bar and

36 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012

AARON’S SETUP “I have a lot of kits,” says Comess, who endorses Yamaha drums. “I always try to choose the best sound for a particu- lar project. I’ve got a bunch of great Yamaha kits, which I always use live. I’ve got the classic black Yamaha Recording Custom series, which I bought when I was sixteen. Those drums are just incredible; the ’80s Recording Custom series is like vin- tage now. I’ve used their PHX kit on recordings too, including some of my own. And I’m just about to use their new Club Custom kit on the road with the Spins. I’ve also got a little Gretsch kit, an old Slingerland kit, and on Beautiful Mistake I used my Bradys: 16x22 kick, 9x12 tom, 16x16 floor tom, plus three of their snare drums—a 1 5 /2x14 “tree trunk” model and a 6x16 1 and 5 /2x10 jarrah. I’ve been a big fan of their drums for a long time. I used them on all of the Spin Doctors records early on. “The Zildjian cymbals I used on Beautiful Mistake were primarily a 22" K Dark ride with rivets, a 20" Constantinople, 15" A Vintage hi-hats, and a 22" Complex II ride.” Aaron also uses Remo Coated Ambassador and Emperor heads and Vic Firth American Custom SD4 Combo sticks. different groupings. But at the same time, knocked on his practice-room door and his thing was always, ‘It has to feel good. It convinced him to check out their tunes. has to sound good. It has to fit the song.’ It Comess liked the band, which called itself Pocket Full of Kryptonite, became a multi- was good being pushed hard technically, the Spin Doctors, and he decided to join. platinum blockbuster, the band was but it’s also important to have somebody “We started writing songs together, and unable to sustain its popularity, and about stress that it’s all about making the music the vibe was cool,” Aaron recalls. “We ten years ago Comess began focusing on and the beat feel good.” were immediately playing out live in New developing his reputation as a studio Comess says he’s always favored York, and at the time our approach was drummer. “That meant really putting drummers with an organic sound and the opposite of other bands’. Everybody myself out there on the scene,” he says, approach, like and Tony else was rehearsing all week and doing “playing with good people. You can take Williams. “I kind of grew up studying to be their one showcase gig a month, trying to any gig under the sun, and that’s cool— a really versatile drummer,” he explains, get a record deal. We were playing five you’ve got to work. But when you put “and I tried to model myself after guys like nights a week in clubs, and we’d rehearse yourself in a situation where you’re play- —somebody who plays great once a month. And we didn’t care about ing with really good people who play the jazz, rock, blues, whatever. I saw myself getting a record deal. We were just like, kind of music you like, and you’re sound- more as a guy that was going to play with ‘We want to be a good band; we want ing good doing it, everything else kind of a ton of people.” to make a living.’ From playing so much, falls into place. I was lucky to be working After a year at Berklee and another in we got a big following. One thing led with some great people around New York. Dallas studying with Okstel, Comess to another, and the record companies If you can keep doing it, word gets moved to New York and enrolled at the started coming around.” around, and before you know it you’re New School. One day some classmates Though the Spin Doctors’ debut album, working a lot.”

38 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012

you have a great song, something that you feel good about, how the drummer approaches it can make it go in many dif- ferent directions. But ultimately I always think of the song first. If I’m working with an artist, I want to hear them play the song bare bones before I even hit the drums. I want to hear the lyrics, the melody, the chords—kind of get the vibe of it. That’s going to make me feel where I need to go sonically with the drums— what kind of snare sound to have, what kind of toms and cymbals, whether to use mallets, brushes, or sticks…. There are so many things you can do, but it’s all based on where the song’s coming from.” Most of the Beautiful Mistake tracks fea- ture guitar solos, but Comess thinks of In 2006 Comess released his first solo “and then we just went in and recorded it. these sections as group improvisations. album, Catskills Cry, and soon after began I love that approach to music. You get the “Maybe the guitar is the main voice of that composing the music that would become right musicians in there that you trust, and improvisation,” he explains, “but the other 2011’s Beautiful Mistake. “I like to sit everybody does their homework. I love to instruments, we’re all happy and having a around and play guitar and come up with capture something fresh before you have conversation together. Even though the little songs,” he says. “About a year ago I time to know it too well or overthink it, guitar is kind of the main thing, every- realized that I had the material together, and that’s exactly what we did.” body’s an equal part of the conversation. and I decided to call some guys that I love For Comess, the drum parts were never Kenny and Rich are really great at that.” playing with and do it.” a worry. “For me the song always comes Comess recorded the album at his Comess made demos, playing all the first,” he says. “So before I even presented home studio in ’s East instruments himself, and sent them to gui- the material to these guys, I wanted to Village. The trio cut live over two days, tarist Teddy Kumpel and Richard make sure that there was a song there on then Comess and Kumpel spent another Hammond. “I got together with Teddy a —a melody and a form and day on overdubs. “I love getting good couple times to go over stuff,” Aaron says, everything—that stood on its own. Once sounds,” Aaron says, “and I’ve got a great

AARON COMESS engineer, Roman Klun. We went for a music, I just wanted it to be completely twentieth anniversary of Kryptonite—they little different approach on this record. I open and organic.” did an East Coast tour this past October didn’t want to use as many mics, so a lot Rather than rely on postproduction to and have European dates in early 2012— of the songs are recorded with just three or add variety to the drum sounds on the Comess says, “We’ve been having a won- four. I’m a big fan of capturing the kit the album, Comess expanded his choice of derful time playing together, and the band way it sounds and letting the drummer mix snares. “One of the records that was a huge sounds great.” But at this point, with the himself when he’s playing. If you’re using influence on Beautiful Mistake was Bill impressive list of credits he’s amassed, the two or three mics, you’ve really got to be Frisell’s Gone, Just Like a Train, with Victor drummer is clearly comfortable living the aware [of dynamics] when you go over to Krauss and Jim Keltner,” Aaron says. life of a musician for hire. “There’s a mis- the toms. “Keltner’s one of my favorite drummers, conception that the session drummer plays “There was no fancy stuff, no sound and the approach to that record was very it safe and boring, but that’s not the case at manipulation at all, really,” Comess stresses. organic, very loose. A lot of times Jim will all,” he insists. “You have to be prepared to “It was just about getting good sounds and use different snare sounds on a track, so I go in there and work fast and come up the right guys—the chemistry—and hav- tried that out on this record. It’s cool to with something quick. But people want ing the material together and doing it in an have different tones. I set up three snares something unique as well, and your job is organic fashion. There’s a time and place on my kit for the whole record. In some to serve the song and bring something to it for running drums through guitar amps cases I’d be bouncing around on all of without getting in the way. and filters and crazy stuff. But for this par- them during the song, even within fills.” “At the same time, you’ve got to know ticular project, the way I was hearing the As the Spin Doctors busily celebrate the when to just lay it down, and sometimes the best thing to do is the bare minimum. But even when you’re doing the bare mini- mum, it’s how you play it that matters. It’s all about making it feel right and respect- ing the style. That’s the thing that’s so important to understand: Keep your mind open, listen to all kinds of music, respect and understand the styles. That’s the stuff that’s going to make people want to play with you.”

RECORDINGS Aaron Comess “Unleash the Beast” from Beautiful Mistake, “Future” from Catskills Cry /// Spin Doctors “Two Princes” from Pocket Full of Kryptonite, “Sugar” from Nice Talking to Me /// Joan Osborne “Baby Love” from Righteous Love /// Rachael Yamagata “Letter Read” from Happenstance /// Chris Whitley “Last Million Miles” from Soft Dangerous Shores /// “Saints Preserve Us” from Burning the Daze /// James Maddock “Step Into the Water” from Wake Up and Dream /// Bilal “Love Poems” from 1st Born Second /// Saul Zonana “Even” from Blue Monkey /// New York Electric Piano “The Modern World” from Keys to the City Volumes 1 & 2

INFLUENCES Filles de Kilimanjaro () /// John Coltrane A Love Supreme () /// Gone, Just Like a Train (Jim Keltner) /// Led Zeppelin II (John Bonham) /// Rolling Stones Tattoo You (Charlie Watts) /// The Royal Scam (Bernard Purdie, Rick Marotta) /// Innervisions (Stevie Wonder) /// Still Crazy After All These Years (Steve Gadd) /// AC/DC Back in Black (Phil Rudd) /// The White Album (Ringo Starr) /// Shut Up ’n Play Your Guitar (Vinnie Colaiuta)

SHOP TALK

by Benjamin Homola

SCREWDRIVER SET PRO-GAFF GAFFER’S TAPE Multiple sizes of flat and Phillips-head screwdrivers, like those made by This is the most versatile tool in your box. Gaffer’s Craftsman, will ensure that you can tighten just about any loose part that tape is great for quick temporary fixes for just about doesn’t require a drum key. Your underprepared guitarists will thank you too. anything, from dampening drums to spiking hard- ware to your drum rug. Pro-Gaff tape comes in a variety of colors and sizes. Get several rolls. CYMBAL CLEANER AND SHELL/HARDWARE POLISH There are lots of options for cymbal cleaners and DRUM KEYS drum/hardware polishes. Zildjian has made an Larger keys, like the ones DW manufac- excellent cymbal cleaner for years, and Dunlop tures, make tuning and working with Drum Shell 65 works great for drums and hardware. hardware a lot easier, and they give you a Find products you like, and use them every once in bit more leverage. Evans’ magnetic drum a while in order to keep your kit looking like new. key is also great, because you can leave it on a tension rod and not have to worry about it bouncing off and disappearing SPARE CYMBAL FELTS under your bass drum pedal. Several companies offer prepack- aged sets of cymbal felts and cymbal-stand sleeves. Always use felts—at least on the bottom— and sleeves to protect your cym- bals from cracking and keyholing.

44 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012 600-GRIT AND 2,000-GRIT SANDPAPER SWISS ARMY POCKETKNIFE With good care, a drum’s bearing Like every Boy Scout knows: Always be edge will last a long time. But little prepared! A quality pocketknife can nicks and scratches are inevitable, help in a myriad of ways, from snip- especially when you’re trying to ping off broken snare wires to opening LUCAS OIL WHITE change heads in the cramped a can of beans for a late-night snack. LITHIUM GREASE/SMITH quarters of a small or in & WESSON GUN OIL A little of this stuff goes a long the back of an Econoline van. way. Dropping a tiny bit on the Running light-grade sandpaper end of each tension rod when over an uneven edge will allow EARPLUGS you change heads will make the head to seat properly again. Whether you go with the cheap, disposable foam tuning your drums easier, and Make sure you do some research ones or you spend a little extra cash on models it’ll extend the life of your beforehand, however, so you’re designed especially for musicians (Hearos and tension rods. confident with the process. Vater make high-quality yet reasonably priced ver- sions), you should always carry a pair of earplugs. Longevity is the name of the game, and protecting your hearing is paramount. FLASHLIGHT MOONGEL DAMPENER PADS Streamlight makes a bright and Moongels are great for eliminating rugged flashlight called the Scorpion, the pesky overtones that can build which can be a godsend when you’re up in a not-so-gorgeous-sounding ALLEN WRENCH SET working on dark stages. room. Get several containers, and try Most has moving cutting some of them in half—or parts, and parts that move can— even in quarters—for lighter and often do—malfunction. In addi- TACKLE ORGANIZER/TOOLBOX muffling options. tion to various sizes and types of Tackle organizers, like those from Plano, screwdrivers, a set of Allen wrenches help you keep your tools and miscellaneous is essential for keeping those small parts organized and easy to locate. HAND TOWELS parts in good working order. The gigging life can get messy at times, and odds are that you’re going to have to deal with at least one sticky beverage flying your way. Keep a few clean hand towels nearby to prevent an otherwise great gig from turning into a catastrophe.

TheIntroducing… 2012 Modern Drummer Pro Panel

his year the Pro Panel once Gerald Heyward again represents the remarkable scope and depth Heyward has been the go-to guy for R&B superstars like T MODERN DRUMMER of modern drumming, from the PRO PANEL Beyoncé and Mary J. Blige for over a decade and can be absolute pinnacle of studio credited for introducing the sounds of modern gospel drumming to a recording to the forefront of MODERNMODERN DDRUMMERRUMMER wider audience through his work with crossover artists like Rob arena performance, from the Thomas. You can read Gerald’s thoughts on fusion superstar Dennis PROPRO PPANELANEL Chambers on page 71 in this issue. most shredding metal to the cut- ting edge of jazz. We’ll be hearing from these rhythmic mavericks and Jim Keltner magicians throughout the coming year, picking their brains about the It would be easier to list the artists that Keltner hasn’t great strides our drumming forefa- The Modern Drummer Pro Panel worked with than to pick a representative sampling of the thers made yesterday, the issues is an annually revolving group historic figures whose music he’s helped bring to fruition. From Joe that contemporary pros are deal- of internationally recognized Cocker to to to to to Ry ing with today, and the fascinating player/commentators with one Cooder to —phew…see what we mean?—Keltner’s essential purpose: to help you exhaustive résumé is a study in taste and invention. directions in which drumming will master the physical and mental be heading in the future. Let’s techniques of our noble meet our distinguished panel. instrument, the drumset. Brian Reitzell

A remarkably well-traveled and inquisitive self-starter, Reitzell has put his rhythmic and compositional stamp Chris Adler on the music of artists including Nikka Costa, , Air, and ; the soundtracks to , Friday Night A founding member of the popular metal band Lamb of Lights, Lost in Translation, and 30 Days of Night; and the video game God, Adler has garnered an enormous fan base for his Red Faction: Armageddon. atypical approach to heavy drumming. In recent years he’s made signif- icant strides in the educational field via columns in MD, a string of SRO drum clinics, and his book, The Making of New American Gospel. Jim Riley As the drummer and musical director for the popular Gregg Bissonette contemporary country act Rascal Flatts, Riley works contin- uously at the highest peaks of performance. And his dedication to One of the most popular performers and well-respected drumming education—through clinic work (including the 2011 MD clinicians of the past two decades, Bissonette has Fest), private lessons, articles in this magazine, and method books—is appeared on hit records with artists ranging from Gino Vannelli and equally impressive. Maynard Ferguson to and Toto. Lately he’s been espe- cially busy doing soundtrack work in L.A. and touring with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band. Antonio Sanchez

Upon first hearing Sanchez, world-renowned jazz and fusion Terri Lyne Carrington leaders like , Danilo Perez, Chris Potter, and Avishai Cohen immediately understood the enormous skill and inventive- Since first grabbing headlines in the late ’70s and early ’80s ness the drummer possesses, and they subsequently welcomed him into as a teenage drumming prodigy, Carrington has regularly their musical worlds. The three-time Grammy winner has also made signif- collaborated with jazz royalty like , , and icant recordings as a leader and is a highly regarded clinician. Dianne Reeves. Her most recent CD as a leader, The Mosaic Project, fea- tures a stellar cast of artists including , Geri Allen, and Esperanza Spalding. Gil Sharone

Sharone is a unique player on today’s scene, able to per- Matt Chamberlain form blistering heavy rock with groups like Dillinger Escape Plan and as well as heartfelt, completely credible reggae and asso- Chamberlain is among an extremely small group of first- ciated styles. Gil’s recent instructional DVD, Wicked Beats, is the best call studio and stage drummers, contributing provocative exploration of island grooves available, covering in depth many of the rhythms and sounds to projects by , , Bill Frisell, topics the drummer touched on at his 2011 MD Fest appearance. , , , and dozens of other artists. His MD cover story begins on the next spread. Billy Ward Bob Gatzen Ward has had a long relationship with Modern Drummer, writing a series of mind-expanding columns for the maga- One of the most respected behind-the-scenes drum zine as well as authoring the MD-published book Inside Out: Exploring industry figures, Gatzen has had an incalculable influence, the Mental Aspects of Drumming. Billy’s playing credits include Robbie designing innovative gear for a number of manufacturers, notably DW Robertson, , , Joan Osborne, , and Carly drums and Evans heads. His philosophies and techniques in the area Simon. Ward is also a world-famous clinician, and his thoughts on the of drum tuning and setup have also been profoundly influential. subject can be found in next month’s feature “Get Good: Clinics.” He’s moved from Texas to New York to Seattle and now to L.A., sometimes following employ- ment and sometimes chasing his muse. With his technical abilities and artful aesthetic, however, the first-call drummer would probably have plenty of work even if he moved to the moon.

48 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012 Story by Michael Dawson Photos by Alex Solca

ack in the late ’80s, Matt Chamberlain was just cymbals, nonetheless—in the video for Brickell’s chart- a young Dallas-based drummer about to topping hit, “,” while his slick Manu Katché/ embark on his first big-time tour, with the folk- Stewart Copeland–inspired playing on the Bohemians’ rock band Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, who sophomore release, 1990’s , foreshadowed were riding high on the successes of their the many great things to come. Bbreakthrough album, Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars. In 1991, Chamberlain became every young alt-rocker’s But it was only a matter of time before Chamberlain’s favorite drummer when he appeared in ’s live unique talents had piqued the interest of not only fellow video for the song “Alive.” (The video was shot while Matt aspiring musicians but also some of the key movers and was filling in with the band for a brief two-week tour.) Later shakers within the music industry. MTV viewers will likely that year, Chamberlain was offered a in guitarist G.E. remember spotting the fresh-faced drummer showing off Smith’s house band. He ended up leav- his textbook traditional grip and nimble hi-hat technique— ing the show after just one season, because, he explains, played on a blue Yamaha kit with power toms and sky-high “New York City wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be,”

January 2012 • MODERN DRUMMER 49 “If you want to do this for a living, you have to at least try some other stuff. You might surprise some people, and you might discover something. Otherwise, why even be a or offer your services as a drummer for hire if you’re not going to bring something to the table?”

50 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012 and subsequently shipped himself back across the country to Seattle, where he lived until early 2011. Leaving such a lucrative gig as SNL might have seemed ludicrous to the vast majority of aspiring drummers out there, but the move westward turned out to be particularly prescient. Not only was Chamberlain able to live a more relaxed and comfortable lifestyle away from the hustle and bustle of , but he was also free to explore his creative muse. “I realized that Seattle was a place where I could experiment and make crazy music with friends and not have to worry too much about my monthly nugget,” the drum- mer says. The result of those freeform experi- ments was the quirky electronic/acoustic outfit , which went on to release the Bumpa, Stampede, Guest, Host, Amoeba, and Monkeypot Merganzer. At the same time that Matt was getting his MD: What was it that finally prompted you to move to ? freak on with Critters, he was also building a Matt: When I was home in Seattle, which wasn’t very often, I wasn’t reputation as someone who could deliver the working. Plus I’m married, and I figured I wanted to see the woman goods in the studio, thanks in part to his incredi- I’m married to. [laughs] She’s been with me for twenty years, but we bly creative and tasty contributions to two were at a point last year where I was like, “You know what, I’m gone mega-hit 1996 records, over 200 days a year. This is ridiculous.” So we got a little apartment by -rock band the Wallflowers, and in Silverlake, and it’s great because I can just come back here Tidal, the adventurous debut by then-teenage instead of going to a hotel or flying all over the place. singer Fiona Apple. Chamberlain’s output since MD: Are you working more in private studios around L.A., or are you then has been enormous, including everything still going to the big rooms? from mainstream pop hits with the likes of Chris Matt: I’m still going to the big studios. I spent most of this past sum- Isaak, , , and mer at Sunset Sound working on a new Jason Mraz record. Luckily, to more abstract collaborations with jazz/ artists that have budgets are still going to those studios, because the improv artists such as , Marco rooms sound great. Benevento, and Bill Frisell. The drummer has MD: Do you still use a cartage company to handle your gear? even made appearances on a smattering of Matt: Yeah. For me things haven’t really changed at all. The music modern country releases, with Sara Evans, Keith industry is changing, obviously. But since I moved down here, I’m Urban, Faith Hill, and others. busier than ever. Since 1998, Chamberlain has kept his schedule MD: I imagine you get a lot more calls because you’re living in town. full by setting up recording sessions during off Matt: Yeah, but I was still working, even when I was living in Seattle. days or between tours with pianist/songwriter Tori Amos. This past year, Amos decided to return to her classical roots and released a con- cept album for piano and orchestra, so Matt found his date book opening up a bit, leaving him with another potentially life-changing deci- sion to make: Would he remain in Seattle, where he had just built a nice drum-tracking studio in his home, or would he and his wife relocate to Los Angeles so he could make himself readily available for day-to-day session work? We caught up with Chamberlain a few months after he decided to make the move, to find out how things were going and also to get a feel for what it’s like—and what it takes— to be one of the recording industry’s most in- demand players. MATT CHAMBERLAIN

People who were hiring me would make the second session because he the situation. But generally if they’re plan ahead and get the budget together was on the road with Sheryl Crow, so going to take two weeks to do basic to fly me in, but I wasn’t getting called he recommended me. That was a last- tracks, then you can mess with for a lot of last-minute stuff. Now minute thing that I got called to do. arrangements, deconstruct things, there’s a lot more opportunity to do Another great thing about living in and try different grooves. I might have things like movie soundtracks. A lot of L.A. is that there are so many great more of my drums, percussion, and the composers are constantly rewrit- musicians around that I love playing odd bits lying around to make loops ing and doing last-minute sessions. with, so I’m working on tons of little with or play grooves on. But if it’s a Those are really fun to do because projects with friends. Everything is roots-rock kind of thing, you’re not they throw a chart in front of you way more convenient. going to get into making loops. If they and you have to read. MD: You’re actually getting out to jam gravitate toward wanting more beats MD: Is it interpretive reading, or is it on your own time? and creating sounds and textures, note for note? Matt: Definitely. I’m not one of these then you can explore. I can record Matt: Some of it’s very arranged, but it guys that just does sessions. Session stuff into my laptop and tweak things depends on who the composer is and work is a way for me to make a living. out and then play drums on top of what kind of music they’re writing. If Maybe 35 percent of it is super-creative that, or I can work with the engineer it’s more of a loose rock soundtrack, and they’re hiring me to explore and to make a unique sound for that song, they won’t want you to play the fills push the envelope. Some people have trying different drums and all that. they wrote on the computer. But if it’s huge budgets and are willing to spend If it’s somebody that only has two more worked out, then you’ll have to an entire day on a song. But then days for tracking, you can still try stuff, read it note for note. there are people who want you to bust but you’re kind of just throwing things MD: You played on the soundtrack to out as many songs as possible in one at the wall. In Pro Tools, you can do Horrible Bosses, which has more of a day, and they’ll just deal with it later multiple takes and try different things, band sound. in Pro Tools. which gives them a bunch of options. Matt: A lot of that involved scores, but MD: What’s your mentality going into Then they go home and edit. That’s it’s more funk/rock grooves. Victor those two different scenarios? the good thing about Pro Tools. Indrizzo was on that, but he couldn’t Matt: Everything is so dependent on MD: Even in that situation you’re not

MATT CHAMBERLAIN

looking to just settle on one approach For one song I had to record myself producers are going to want, or is it and move on. You’re still trying a few into Ableton Live on my laptop so I always flexible? different ideas. could tweak out this one groove and Matt: It’s totally flexible. You’re obvi- Matt: Oh, yeah. That leaves things then play on top of it. Then we added ously going to bring a couple drumkits open for them later on. If I give them a another drumkit. It was a process, and and some snares. I collect a lot of bunch of ideas, they can edit things I didn’t know what we were going to drums that aren’t necessarily snares together. But some people just like to do. All I knew was that I was going to and bass drums but sound like snares go for a bunch of takes so they can find show up and experiment, so it was and bass drums. I have a bunch of Taos a great one, and then maybe they grab good to have tons of options. Native American drums, and there’s a fill from someplace else. one that sounds like a sampled bass There’s no one way of working, Found Sounds drum. I can throw that up to approxi- which is great. Some people will want MD: At this point, do you have an mate the sound of a sample. I love hav- to just get together in the studio with a idea of the types of sounds various ing those kinds of things around, and bass player and track everything live. Some people will have the vocals and all the other stuff in Pro Tools, and they just want you to put drums on it. They’ll usually have demos, so you can hear where they’re coming from and feel out their aesthetic. And I’ll ask a lot of questions about what they’re going for. A lot of people will write to loops and get married to that sound, so I’ll ask if they’re going to use that loop and have me play on top or if they want me to re-create that loop. Or are they look- ing to go someplace else entirely? MD: When I interviewed a while back, he said that he doesn’t want to play to anything that’s not going to be on the final track. Matt: That totally makes sense, because you’re playing off it, so it can influence what you do. MD: And when they yank it out, what you played might sound weird. Matt: Yeah, if somebody’s playing a crazy bass line and they’re like, “Just ignore the bass,” I’d rather mute it. You have to be prepared for just about any- thing. Generally the producer will give you an idea going in, like if you should bring a modern-sounding kit, an old- school midrangy kit, some options for snares, or whatever odd bits and per- cussion they’re hearing. Or they’ll just say, “Bring all your shit, and we’ll freak out for a few days.” [laughs] For a thing I just did with [producer] Rich Costi for this artist named Birdy, we didn’t have a bass player. It was completely wide open, but at the same time Rich wanted it to have a pro- grammed-beat aesthetic. In that situa- tion, you could bring all your gear, but you still might not have what you need.

54 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012 that’s generally what songwriters are the bottom of the head. If you can crank the mic, it can sound incredible, pushing for—they’re trying to get some crank it up and hit it really lightly, it and you don’t know what the hell it is. different sounds to fit the mood of sounds like an 808 snare. If you put these elements together in their songs. Another cool thing is the Remo some kind of recording software, you MD: What do you look for in a piece of Ocean drum. If you hit it with your can make weird percussion beats and gear when you’re searching for an hands, it makes the weirdest sound. then run them through amp simulators alternative sound? You can also put it on a snare stand, to crust them up a little bit. A snare Matt: You can just tap on things, tape it down, and hit it with a stick, sound is basically white noise, so you and there are a lot of people making and you get a really mushy thing can try miking anything, like a bag of unusual instruments. There’s this one happening. potato chips, and come up with really DW drum I’ve been using for years. And I’ve been into miking tiny little interesting sounds. It’s a single-headed 8" piccolo tom things, like a piece of paper, and MD: What about alternate bass drum with snare wires pressed up against smacking them with my finger. If you sounds? Matt: Have you ever put your ear up to the edge of a cymbal and hit it lightly? There’s an insane amount of low end. If you stick a mic right there, muffle the cymbal, and smack it with your thumb, you can get an amazing bass drum sound. There’s tons of stuff like that, where you can get into making beats by magnifying things so that they’re out of context. With programs like Ableton Live, it’s endless. MD: Are you coming into sessions with these sounds already in your laptop, or are you finding stuff to try when you get to the studio? Matt: You just do it as you’re going. I’ll get the bpm of the song and then just start throwing things together with whatever’s lying around. They might like it, or they might not, or maybe they like one element of it. Even if they’re not 100 percent sure about it, it’s still something to play to that’s different from just a click. MD: So when given the option, you’d rather create your own track? Matt: Oh, yeah. But there are a lot of people who are really good at writing and programming on their laptops. There’s this group called Of that I’ve worked with a bunch. Their main songwriter, Kevin [Barnes], programs the most insane drum stuff in Logic. So whenever he comes to me with a song, I’m like, “Wow! What do you want me to do on this?” Sometimes I’ll transcribe his program- ming and just play it on drumkit, or sometimes I’ll play on top of his pro- gramming and he’ll do a hybrid thing.

Solo Projects, Drum Clinics, and Defining Your Sound MD: Right before you moved to L.A. you built a studio in your house in MATT CHAMBERLAIN

Seattle. Are you keeping that intact? is played live. I thought, What if I have Matt: Pretty much. I did some stuff for live drums and everything else is in the there while I was working computer? Plus with my schedule, it’s on my next solo project, Company 23. impossible to work with anybody on a Some of my recording gear is down regular basis. My plan is to tour it and here in L.A., but there are so many try to schedule some drum clinics studios around town. I prefer to just during the day, before the gigs. show up with my stuff and play, and MD: You haven’t done a lot of drum then have somebody else deal with clinics. engineering. Matt: They’re nerve-racking! I often MD: What is Company 23 all about? get into a spiral of infinite possibili- Matt: It’s basically the stuff I do when ties, so when I start thinking about I’m not being employed by other peo- trying to explain what it is that I’m ple. This record is a little more aggro doing in a clinic context I break out in because I decided to blast all of the hives. I admire guys who can distill synths through guitar and bass amps what they do down to a specific pro- and then mike them. It has a visceral gram. I don’t know what my thing thing to it. I’m printing it up on vinyl would be that I would teach anybody, and making it available for digital so I’m just going to play this at mattchamberlain.com. for people. MD: How did you write the music? Did MD: It’s always illuminating to see you use a MIDI controller to record someone play up close. melodic ideas on your computer? Matt: It is. The drum clinics that have Matt: Yeah. It’s my attempt at doing a made the greatest impression on me solo project where it’s just me and my are the ones where the guy is just laptop. It’s kind of the reverse of hip- playing. They’re not talking a lot or hop, where everything but the drums telling stories. That’s fun and all, but I like to just go and experience some music. I remember seeing Jack DeJohnette do a drum clinic at a con- DRUMMERS vention in ’89 or ’90. He had them turn the lights almost all the way off, Learn To Read and he did this freeform drum solo for With Sam Ulano’s forty-five minutes. It was the most Open Your Brain Study insane, life-changing experience. It was like being abducted by a drum- ming alien. [laughs] GET YOUR In the end, it’s art. Everybody is entitled to his or her opinion FREE about how to present it. And with COPY all the music that’s available now, OF SAM’S you can draw influences from just about anything. “FOLDY” MD: How do you keep from getting overwhelmed by the possibilities? Send Requests To: Matt: You can only do what you can 127 W. 43rd Street, Apt. 1026 do. If you’re put in a situation where you’re making music with somebody, New York, NY 10036 you’re hopefully going to follow your intuition and make it sound good by 212-977-5209 playing what feels right to you, even if it’s something completely different www.samulano.com from what most people would expect. I like the idea of being influenced by “I’ve Taught Some one thing while you’re playing some- Of The Best.” thing totally unrelated. Maybe on your

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MATT CHAMBERLAIN

drive to a session with a singer- every day for a living, or if you want songwriter, an N.W.A. song comes to do this for a living, you have to at up on the radio and influences you to least try some other stuff. You might try some nasty groove over the top of surprise some people, and you might a mellow song with acoustic guitar. discover something. Otherwise, why Or maybe you were listening to Elvin even be a session musician or offer Jones, so you wanted to try playing your services as a drummer for hire if with that wide-open, loose feel. you’re not going to bring something Would that be an interesting juxtapo- to the table?

B 2 3

1 A C D

MATT’S SETUP

Drums: Craviotto in ginger ale Heads: Remo, including a Coated CS sparkle finish snare batter and Ambassador Hazy 1 A. 6 /2x14 Diamond series bottom, Coated Ambassador tom nickel-over-brass snare batters and Clear Ambassador bottoms, B. 9x13 tom and a Coated Powerstroke 3 bass drum C. 16x16 floor tom batter and Fiberskyn Craviotto logo D. 14x26 bass drum front head

Cymbals: Istanbul Agop Sticks: Regal Tip 8A 1. 14" 30th Anniversary hi-hats 2. 20" Mel Lewis ride Chamberlain frequently changes his 3. 23" Matt Chamberlain signature ride setup to include a 12", 13", or 14" rack tom; a 15", 16", or 18" floor tom; an 18", Hardware: DW, including 9000 series 20", 22", 24", 26", or 28" bass drum; hi-hat stand and bass drum pedal and a variety of snares.

sition? Those are ways to break out A lot of guys think being a session of just playing the same old stuff. I drummer is this super-serious thing, like to think of the most unrelated and you have to show up with the drum concepts that might work on best gear and have this type-A per- somebody’s song and try them out, sonality the whole time. I think that’s as long as we have time for that type a bunch of crap. You just have to be of exploration. creative and be in there with the MD: It seems that it would take a cer- artist, trying to contribute something tain amount of fearlessness to be and be part of the team. There are a comfortable doing that. lot of drummers who aren’t working, Matt: You can always just show up because they have this attitude of, and do “the drummer thing.” That “I’m going to put my shit on top of always works, and a lot of times that’s your shit, and it’s going to sound what people want. But if you do this great.” The audacity of that is sad to

MATT CHAMBERLAIN

me. I feel you should come in and be Matt: It hasn’t. What happens is I’ll open and very humble, and let the bring these weird drums to sessions music do its thing. and people will just laugh. But you’ve MD: What’s interesting is that while got to try. Sometimes it’s too much, it’s clear that you take this approach, but then sometimes it works. I like to at the end of the day the track ends up have these things around, for enter- sounding more like you. It’s pretty tainment value at least, even if I don’t easy to tell that it’s you playing on a use them. record, even though you’re always MD: This brings up the topic of what making decisions for the betterment to take to a session. of the music. Matt: I have my basic setup, which is Matt: Yeah, and it could be anything. my Craviotto hybrid kit with a 22" It’s not as if you go in like, “I’m just kick for a general all-around sound going to play the most simple beat and a 24" for when I need to rock out because I don’t want to step on the a bit more. Then I’ll have 12", 13", music.” They might want you to do a and 14" rack toms. I only use one frickin’ drum solo over the chorus rack tom, but if I need a beefier and then run your drums through the sound, the 14" always works well. I guitar player’s rig for the verse. You generally only use a 16" floor tom. have to be as open-minded as possi- Then I’ll have an assortment of ble but still be musical. snares, at least four or five. It’s nice to MD: It’s not like you just show up and have a few classic metal sounds, like say, “Let’s get my sound together.” Matt: That would be crazy! There are CLASSIC INFLUENCES too many possibilities, and drum John Coltrane Sun Ship (Elvin Jones) sounds have certain connotations. /// Can Tago Mago (Jaki Liebezeit) /// If you show up with a piccolo snare Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band cranked up and ringy, or with Lick My Decals Off, Baby (John “Drumbo” French) /// XTC various (Terry something that’s really dead and Chambers) /// / Fleetwood Mac–sounding, or if you My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (David have a middle-of-the-road classic Byrne, John Cooksey, Brian Eno, snare sound, like a Mitch Frantz, Prairie , Jose Rossy, David Mitchell or Charlie Watts sound, each Van Tieghem) ///John Lennon (Ringo Starr) is going to make a song do something totally different. I can’t imagine say- CURRENT FAVES ing that any one of those is “your” Off! First Four EPs () /// sound, when you don’t even know Battles Gloss Drop () /// what the song is or how your drums Autechre Move of Ten (programmed) /// Hella Tripper (Zach Hill) /// Flying relate to the other instruments. The Lotus Cosmogramma (programmed) bass player’s tone is going to interact with the guitar player’s tone, and RECORDINGS your drums need to fit into that. Edie Brickell & New Bohemians Ghost If your sound is too dark to cut of a Dog /// Critters Buggin all /// The Wallflowers Bringing Down the Horse, through the guitar tones, it’s not Breach /// Fiona Apple Tidal, When the going to work. Pawn… /// Tori Amos various /// Macy The only time I think you can get Gray /// David Bowie away with having a sound is if people Heathen /// Matt Chamberlain Matt want that sound and they write a Chamberlain /// Morrissey Ringleader of the Tormentors /// II couple songs for that sound. I love /// Brandi Carlisle The Story /// Sara too many different things, and there Bareilles Little Voice /// are too many options out there. Floratone /// Of Montreal thecontroller- I mean, Craviotto just made me sphere /// Company 23 Company 23 a 20" snare drum that sounds so To read Matt’s comments on the making cool. [laughs] of some of these albums, log on to MD: Has that drum made it on a moderndrummer.com. record yet?

MATT CHAMBERLAIN a Supra-Phonic kind of thing, then a Take a Breath couple super-dead ones, a couple MD: We recently reprinted an excerpt super-dark ones, a couple freaky, odd from a Bill Rieflin interview where he bits, and one or two drums that are was talking about a lesson he learned high pitched and have more crack to from you. He asked you what’s the them. Over time you get your snares most important thing a drummer tweaked to where you like them and should know, and you said to you know what they do, so if the breathe. What did you mean by that? engineer asks for something with Matt: There are a lot of different rea- more ring, more bottom, or more sons. In the past ten to fifteen years crack, you can grab the best option. I’ve gotten to play with a lot of people I’ll also often bring in a vintage kit, I really admire, like David Bowie and like a ’60s Ludwig or Gretsch, just in Morrissey. If you really think about case the Craviottos have too much that, you could work yourself up into high end. Older drums have an inter- a state and not be able to play. So esting midrange and low end that breathing and doing simple center- you don’t get with modern drums. ing exercises really helps me, because But they’re all equally valid. It’s just when you’re relaxed, everything whatever works with the track. flows. If you have your playing tech- MD: Do you take a variety of cymbals nique together, the most important to sessions too? thing is being centered and letting Matt: Yeah. I have a ride that’s high- your body do what it does naturally, endy and pingy that’s good for rock, without inhibiting it. and I have one that’s more mellow MD: So that’s before you even play but still has some high end. I also a note. What about while you’re usually take a couple that are really playing? dark and dry, almost like Jack Matt: It’s not a conscious thing where DeJohnette’s sound. It all depends on I’m like, “I’m going to play now, so I the track, the room, and the engi- need to start breathing.” But if I’m neer. The way the engineer is EQ’ing playing and I find myself getting into things and which mics he chooses to my head or feeling insecure about crank up is really important. Some something, I just sink more into feel- cymbals sound really harsh in certain ing the music and being aware of my rooms, so you have to use something body. A lot of times when you’re that’s a little darker. tense, you’re not breathing. MD: I’ve noticed that the more to between the grid that’s the magical play precisely, the tighter my body part. It’s constantly moving. Like John ends up getting. Has that happened Paul Jones said, it’s dynamic. to you? MD: How do you bring that aesthetic Matt: Yeah. It’s one of those things when you’re playing to a click track? where if something isn’t happening, Matt: Like I was saying, you have to stop trying. Just relax, and it’ll happen draw your own line through it. naturally. Grooving is supposed to feel Hopefully you’re playing the music, good, even if you’re playing to a click. and the click is just there as a refer- A lot of people get too obsessed with ence point. There are also situations being on point with the click, but a lot when someone comes in with all these of times you can draw your own line loops and programmed parts that they through it. If you’re centered in your want you to play drums on, so you playing, you’re going to make your really have to focus in order to nail own feeling around the click, and it’ll that stuff. That’s a whole other mind- generally feel pretty good. But noth- set, where you’re thinking like a drum ing’s perfect. If you listen to a lot of machine and really getting inside the great-feeling old records, it’s speeding programming. With programmed up and slowing down, but it feels great parts, you often get a lot of subdivi- because everybody is playing together. sions, so you’re able to sink into it I remember a hang after a gig with more and meld your playing with where we were talking what’s there. Okay…I just completely about how everything is so perfect contradicted myself. [laughs] and gridded out these days. [Led MD: Well, those are the two worlds Zeppelin bassist] John Paul Jones was that you live in, where some stuff there, and he said something about sounds really gridded out, but with how tempo and time are dynamics, other stuff you can tell there wasn’t a not unlike any other dynamic in metronome in the building. music—there’s loud and soft, but Matt: It all depends on what kind of there’s also slower and faster. Tempo music you’re playing. Some people isn’t a static thing like a lot of people want it to be raggedy and wide, and think it needs to be. If you put any they want the beat to be super-loose. Stones, Zeppelin, or Hendrix record MD: Let’s finish with the idea of on a grid in Pro Tools, it would sound touch. You have an interesting touch, like crap. It’s all the stuff that happens where you play off the drum more than into it. Was that something you worked on consciously? Matt: I don’t really know what I’m doing, but I do know that at one point in college, when I was playing around Dallas, a lot of the clubs didn’t have PA systems. I was playing in these loud rock bands, so I would crank my drums really high and play everything as a rimshot, even on the toms. That was the only way I could cut through. It wasn’t the best way to play the instrument, but I’m sure something from that stuck with me. But then, when you get into the studio, you end up playing way softer because you don’t have to generate as much vol- ume to get your point across. A lot of times playing too loud can work against you. But my touch isn’t really a conscious thing. I’m just trying to make a good sound with people. Ebet Roberts

64 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012 EJ DeCoske

by David Jarnstrom

In the mid-’80s, Hüsker Dü fused hardcore punk MD: When did you start on the drums? with bittersweet pop, setting the table for an entire What was your first kit? generation of angst-ridden alterna-rockers. Two Grant: I started out with a set of Ludwigs. It was the Ringo kit—the decades on, the band’s drummer—who also hap- black oyster pearl. I inherited it from pened to contribute half of the compositions and my brother. He was a drummer, and vocals—traces the trio’s profound path of influence. he died in an accident at work when I was ten. He had given me some basic [snare] lessons. I think we were into s one-third of the legendary including Metallica and Anthrax—are the second book of the Haskell Harr Hüsker Dü, Grant Hart redefined Hüsker fans. Anthrax drummer Charlie Drum Method. Awhat it meant to be a drummer Benante, in fact, plays in a Hüsker Dü I had once-a-week piano lessons, but in a punk rock band. Not only did his cover band called the Dü Hüskers. the teacher caught me playing by ear playing push the stagnant boundaries Hart has since gone on to have a and thought I needed some time away of the genre, but he also co-fronted the successful career as a singer and guitar to mature. [laughs] I can read rhythm group, writing and singing nearly as player, but he still has a soft spot for charts, but I don’t pay attention to the many songs as singer/guitarist Bob drumming. He tracks all the drums and notes that much. I’ve used the excuse for Mould. The trio’s sound combined the percussion on his records, and he years that sheet music is essentially soft- energy and urgency of hardcore punk maintains a massive collection of ware for a machine, and I don’t want to with the melody and introspection of Slingerland Radio Kings. Grant recently be a machine. I played in the school ’60s pop bands like the Byrds and the sat down with Modern Drummer to dis- band—drumming, mallets, nothing terri- Beatles, delighting legions of fans who cuss his past, and how those he’s bly difficult. It was mostly still by ear. were fed up with MTV and mainstream inspired have been able to return the Even in high school they had recordings rock radio. favor in the present. of what [the music] was supposed to While Hüsker Dü was extremely pro- lific in its output of quality material, the band broke up in 1988, well before the “The exhilaration of just slamming a crest of the era. Still, the Minnesota group had a massive influ- roomful of people up against the wall— ence on multiplatinum bands like Nirvana, Green Day, and Foo Fighters. Even some of the biggest metal acts— there’s nothing quite like it.” GRANT HART

sound like. Once my brother died, drumming became one activity that I could do no wrong by pursuing. It made things so easy with my parents. I could sneak out of the house with a pair of drumsticks, no problem. If they thought that I was playing the drums somewhere, they would tolerate it very much because it was something that I’d picked up from my brother. MD: Did you teach yourself how to play the actual drumset then? Grant: Yeah, pretty much. I would put “We deliberately started playing more pop headphones on and play to 45s. In those stuff because that was a surefire way to days it was pretty easy to tell what people were doing. The song on the record was piss off the youngest of the hardcore bands.” actually played, so you didn’t have a lot of three-handed drum parts. One thing MD: In the early days Hüsker Dü was play- We were very fortunate in the way that that I probably spent a hundred hours ing a million miles an hour. we converted ourselves, because what playing along to was the Fifth Dimension’s Grant: Part of it’s myth; part of it’s more was going on became so overloaded with “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In.” It was real of a development than a sudden change. politics that the singers, the composers, pop-funky. It had a lot of “back filling” For example, our first album, Land Speed didn’t know anything about. It’s also going on. Record—we had plenty of mid-tempo to arguable whether the lyrical content even MD: That’s something that became part slower stuff, but we concentrated all our matters when things are going at that of your style in Hüsker Dü. fastest material into one set to deliberately volume. We could have been singing Grant: Yeah, keep the snare busy—it make that record. We continued to play about anything. kind of came from that. Also, the most the fast set on tour after the first LP; it’s There’s something attractive about important song for a drummer my age to what people expected. There was more negative attention—that whole rock ’n’ know was the Surfaris’ “Wipeout,” emphasis on speed than melody, clarity roll badass thing. It’s badass to be able because if you were a drummer in 1973, of performance, accuracy of trajectory…it to do something very intensely, but it’s all of the high school kids would be like, “I was all about velocity. And it got to the also badass to not need to do it for your bet you can’t play ‘Wipeout.’” [laughs] point where we could play it in half the own self. The surf stuff was real attractive to me time of the original recording. MD: How would you gear up for the because a lot of it was Hal Blaine, and he’s It’s arguable that there was a deliber- intensity of a Hüsker Dü show? doing some really nice, tight stuff—really ate concentration of the very fastest stuff Grant: I wasn’t that keen on stimulants straight rolls for fills. I integrated that with played faster to conform to this new after Land Speed Record. The old-time the forever-accenting snare stuff I picked thing that was starting to happen in dif- truck drivers had a formula that incorpo- up from “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In.” ferent places. In the big picture certainly rated coffee, whiskey—just enough to kill MD: What were your first live experiences we were way ahead of the time, but fatigue pain—and keeping the cab of the like? How did you learn to play in bands? there was the Dead Kennedys, Black truck as hot as you can get it so you’re Grant: A big advantage for me was doing Flag, D.O.A. in …. A few years metabolizing everything as much as pos- as many substitution gigs as I did— later there were so many bands like that, sible. That could be applicable to what there’d be a lot of polka, but there’d also we changed the trajectory again and we were doing. I wouldn’t load myself be the Greek New Year’s Eve party and deliberately started playing more pop up on a lot of beer. I would drink water, the Hawaiian stuff. I had gigs where I stuff because that was a surefire way to and as I was ready to get up and play I got the job because I had a Hawaiian piss off the youngest of the hardcore would drink a double shot of bourbon, shirt. [laughs] Some of these polka bands. [laughs] and that would take care of the anesthetic guys—if you didn’t have, like, a clock MD: Did you enjoy playing that fast? in the equation. going inside your head, they were surly. Grant: The exhilaration of just slamming MD: You had better technique than many If you don’t have , how are a roomful of people up against the wall— punk drummers back then—powerful, you going to know it? It’s only by playing there’s nothing quite like it. There were yet economical. How did that develop? along with something that you can other things that were more rewarding Grant: Technique is what people arrive at regard as being strict. after we found out there were plenty of that produces the best result. If the result MD: How old were you when Hüsker Dü other people who played that way. you’re looking for is playing longer and got started? MD: Hüsker Dü never wanted to be part faster and not being quiet, you’re going Grant: I was seventeen when Hüsker Dü of a particular scene. to take into account everything that con- played the first time. I had been playing Grant: All of our hair got unsuitably long tributes to that. the drumset for a good six years. for the audience’s comfort level. [laughs] Most of [my technique] is from discov- MD: Were you still in high school? We enjoyed throwing something chal- ering the path of least resistance. It was Grant: Yeah. was in his first lenging at them. Are people coming to about keeping things loose. It’s a differ- year in college. [Bassist] did hear the band or just to fit in with some- ent kind of strength, the kind of drum- not matriculate. I went to the thing? We sent the message: “Don’t worry ming that I was doing. You’re letting College of Art and Design for a year, for about fitting in. Do what’s right and fit the snap do the work. You’re letting visual art. into that. To thine own self be true.” the bounce do as much of the work as

66 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012

GRANT HART

possible. Snap it down and then relax and those records, we would’ve—out of got out of the hardcore thing at a good catch it when it’s up, and snap it back respect for that—maybe occasionally time. It had become so formulaic. I remem- down again. Release the grip right after the done a second or third take on some ber making a conscious effort; realizing stroke so that you can just keep your hand songs. We rehearsed the hell out of things, that someone could ask us to do “Stars around the stick but not have to lift it. but some of the tones…. [grimaces] and Stripes Forever” and it would end up A lot of people do too much. I had an MD: Did you ever use a click track in sounding like Hüsker Dü, I would try to instructor that called it “pump handling,” the studio? bring things as uncommon to our prac- where, you know, they keep everything Grant: There’s no click. There’s a massive tices as possible. too stiff. I would sit pretty high and let the tempo shift at the beginning of “Diane” on MD: Your song “Tell You Why Tomorrow” drumhead be the elevator. If it’s going to , but usually it’s very consistent. on Hüsker’s final record, Warehouse: Songs bounce anyway, why lift it? The biggest compromise made by me and Stories, even features a mini drum solo MD: Did sitting high help facilitate your was to record the last three albums with- of sorts. singing as well? out cymbals—we’d add cymbals after. It Grant: The drum solo had become such a Grant: Couldn’t have hurt. But also the gave me the opportunity to use room mics negative cliché. That was one of the things energy for the kick drum was being without having a battle going on between that punk was supposed to get rid of. directed straight down to the pedal the cymbals and the guitar tones—just to [laughs] But that was intended as a break instead of forward. The more upright make it so that you can EQ the snare with- fill, to propel it into the next verse. you sat, the less you kicked the drum out screwing up the sound of the cymbals. It was always a little bit of a point of ten- forward. When you’ve got mayhem You can facilitate a better sound. sion. I wouldn’t solo myself—any time my happening on stage, you don’t want it Replacing the cymbals is easy; removing songs had an open eight, this is where the happening on top of your drums. them is more difficult. I would just put a guitar solo would be. I’m glad for every- MD: It’s amazing that you were able to huge piece of carpet over the cymbal. It thing that I didn’t have to try and talk [Bob play that style of music and at the same was kind of a compromise, because Greg Mould] into. time sing so clearly, especially on the songs where you sang lead. How did you do it? “There was more emphasis on speed than melody, Grant: It’s concentration. I thought about clarity of performance, accuracy of trajectory… the drums as little as possible while it was all about velocity. And it got to the point singing. It evolves more into a dance than a musical performance. You know where where we could play it in half everything needs to be at a given time, and then you deliver it as best you can. the time of the original recording.” MD: Your setup seemed pretty ergonomic. Grant: Early on I abandoned the second needed the cymbal to play in time, so MD: You made it on the singles chart last tom-tom. Eventually I lowered the ride what I did was I had a drum pad with a April when Green Day released a cover of cymbal. cymbal chip in it. I played that so I could your song “Don’t Want to Know If You Are MD: Boy, did you ever love that ride monitor it and remove it to add the real- Lonely” from Candy Apple Grey. It’s cymbal. sounding stuff. extremely cool that they included your Grant: My hi-hat was mostly just a place MD: What was your approach to tuning? original version—on the A side, no less. to put my left tennis shoe. Grant: I’d have a small concentric hole Grant: That was very flattering. I’ve been MD: Wait, I thought you played barefoot. in the bass drum and some stuff padded told it was the most successful Record Grant: Only for about the first four or five right up against the head. But I tried to Store Day release. I don’t know if that’s years in Hüsker. I got out of that by the keep everything else as free-ringing as true or not. It all ends up trickling down. time we did . I got tired of possible. Every concert I play, the youngest person picking glass out of my feet. MD: You’re known for your love of there has heard my stuff because of MD: What was the rationale behind bare- Slingerlands. somebody else—or else they’re awful foot drumming in the first place? Grant: The most desirable thing about the damn curious. Grant: You’re not picking up as much Radio Kings was the bent-wood snare. But MD: Hüsker Dü never really got the big weight—you’ve got less to kick forward. the first time I heard the 13" and 16" tom- payday that was enjoyed by the bands Everything you throw down you have to toms, it was like, “God, this is how drums that followed in your footsteps. Does that pick up. should always sound.” On tour, I would call ever eat at you? MD: What size of stick did you prefer? drum shops and pawnshops at eight in the Grant: There’s a certain amount of satis- Grant: I was using 7As, and I was playing morning and buy them up. I kick myself in faction that comes from innovation. How them backwards. But I would still get the the ass because I don’t know why I was flattering is it for me to say, “So and so nylon tip for I’d want to switch not attracted to Slingerlands before. I took everything of mine and made mil- them around and get the really nice con- probably got into them right before New lions”? Well, yeah, that has happened, but tact with the nylon on the ride. I guess I Day Rising. it has nothing to do with what I set out to always wanted to maximize that bright hit. MD: As Hüsker Dü evolved, you got to do when I did it. It’s not like those people MD: Speaking of bright, your records have stretch out a lot more with your drum- made what I was doing any more difficult. a unique sound. The drums have a light, ming, especially on the songs you were I end up having to spend a lot less almost ping-pong-ball sound to them. writing. Was some of this to satisfy your money on bodyguards than the people Grant: To tell you the truth, a lot of the urges as a drummer and not play the same who are super-successful. If I met the right Hüsker stuff was poorly produced. Not to beats over and over? bodyguard that I wanted to give the slag off the band, but I really think that Grant: I can’t say that it was in response to money to, then maybe I’d work on being a had we known the longevity of some of anything seeming “samey,” although we more valuable body to guard. [laughs]

68 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012

 INFLUENCES Matthias Ketz

70 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012 DENNIS CHAMBERS: Multidimensional Rhythmic Warrior

y merging elements of funk, fusion, R&B, and jazz into a daunting style that Midway through the tune, the drummer Brides magically on a carpet of stunning power and technical exhilaration, establishes a marching snare-to-tom pat- Dennis Chambers has become one of the most important and influential drum- tern, a silken space that soon returns to the mers of the post-fusion period. Chambers is self-taught, but he possesses funk at hand. “Groovus Interruptus” is four great confidence and a unique drumming style, and his influence can be on the floor and in your face, a moment of heard in drummers as diverse as Tony Royster Jr., , and Teddy simple fatback thumpery that’s simply Campbell, all of whom draw on Dennis’s groove intricacy, deep pocket, nearly majestic in its delivery. “In Time,” however, is the album’s standout. A classic penned incomprehensible speed, and awe-inspiring soloing style. by Sylvester Stewart that featured Andy Newmark on its original Sly & the Family Chambers made his initial foray into drum sound is deep, his cymbal crashes Stone version, the song sees Chambers the music business with Parliament- enormous. Coupled with Scofield’s wiry revisiting its funk filigree with constantly , but he exploded onto the guitar patterns, Chambers is everywhere at shifting accents, broken full-set 16ths, scene as a member of guitarist John once, propelling the locomotive groove and his instantly recognizable roundhouse Scofield’s innovative mid-’80s quartet, with an earthquake-inducing right foot, tom rolls. where the drummer’s multi-tiered groove inverting the beat and dropping bombs, Planet Earth, from 2006, is equally flush approach and thunderous solos often and creating an unprecedented tidal wave with drum mastery and choice material, threatened to overshadow the band- of rhythm. from the backward beat of the title track to leader’s significant talents. Chambers went Chambers’ reign in Sco’s band contin- the scalding bass drum accents of “Dance on to record and perform with George ued to unleash depth charges: the fantas- Music for Borneo Horns #4” to “Camel Duke, the , Tower of tic bass drum triplets of “Blue Matter,” the Hump,” a solo vehicle of itchin’ snare drum Power, , , gale-force drumming of “Pick Hits,” and figures, displaced hi-hat and bass drum, , Steve Khan’s Eyewitness, the swaying off-kilter displacements, hi- and all the seismic complexity of tectonic , , Steely Dan, and hat/bell punctuations, and dizzying drum plates slipping on a funky planetary axis. John McLaughlin, and for the past ten break of “.” Scofield disbanded In the ’90s Chambers toured with Steely years he’s been a member of the multiplat- this very popular lineup in 1989, and Dan, appearing on the 1995 album Alive in inum Latin rock band Santana. He has also Chambers has often cited his desire to America, and worked with outstanding co-led the groups Niacin, Graffiti, and CAB re-form the group. groups led by Mike Stern, John McLaughlin, and has released several solo albums, Dennis’s recordings as a leader, though and the Brecker Brothers. He joined including Getting Even, Outbreak, Front somewhat overlooked, feature tremen- Santana in time to record the 2002 album Page, and Planet Earth. dous drumming and adventurous compo- Shaman and later appeared on the Chambers was born in and sitions by , , Bill Multidimensional Warrior and All That began drumming at the age of four. By six Evans, , and Scofield. “Roll I Am discs and the Hymns for Peace DVD. he was performing in local . In Call,” from 2002’s Outbreak, is all slinky, Between his responsibilities with Santana, 1978, not long after his eighteenth birth- semi–New Orleans shuffle. That’s followed Dennis has continued to contribute to day, he joined the legendary funk group by “Otay,” a stellar example of tipping hi- many top sessions (Niacin’s Organik and Parliament-Funkadelic, and he remained hat conflagrations, slippery snare-to-tom Barbara Dennerlein’s Take Off! are particu- with the band until 1985. Dennis subse- fills, and unmistakable bass drum originality. larly worthy), and most recently he quently relocated to New York City, where The track reunites Chambers with Scofield, appeared on Steve Khan’s Parting Shot he became the house drummer for the leg- and the sparks fly. Throughout, Dennis’s hi- and Bootsy Collins’ Tha Funk Capital endary Sugar Hill Record Company. His hat pushes with slanted humor while his of the World. massive beats would be sampled ad infini- bell creates lighter-than-air groove joy. Ken Micallef tum for the many classic hip-hop tracks released by Sugar Hill. “A couple of my friends, like Lil’ John In 1986 Chambers joined John Scofield’s Roberts and Gorden Campbell, stud- band for the recording Blue Matter. Two ied Dennis,” says 2012 MD Pro tracks in particular, “Make Me” and “The Panelist Gerald Heyward. “We were

Nag,” showcase Dennis’s blast-furnace Alain Tremblay all church dudes, but hearing them beats and speed-demon velocity. bring Dennis’s influence to the R&B Dropping accents in fresh places, stuff and take the art to another Chambers drives “Make Me” with a stomp- level—playing all these fast cross- ing bass drum, dexterous 16th-note rolls hand licks, coming around the between the bell and the drums real fast but being very snare (within the main portion of the crisp—got me into Dennis. My groove!), and a 2-and-4 backbeat that whole thing was a lot of doubles and sounds like a massive redwood falling in singles, and Dennis was doubling the forest. Chambers’ pocket, abetted by and tripling everything that I was bassist Gary Grainger, is like a tank dancing doing with singles and doubles. on ballerina’s legs: awesomely powerful [laughs] It was also remarkable to see that his style was versatile, coming out of but surprisingly nimble. Parliament and applying that to Scofield and the Brecker Brothers. So for me his “The Nag” sent thousands of drummers influence was speed, taste, and versatility. Dennis took it all to another level.” to the woodshed with its cowbell-driven, bass-drum-galloping beat. Chambers’ CONCEPTS Memorizing Tempos Tips for Finding Your Own Reference Points by Mark Schulman

hat seat we sit on is affectionately Tcalled a throne. This signifies to me that we are kings—or —of our domain. As such, we are in a posi- tion of power and honor. This means that we should never take for granted the responsibility that we have to cre- ate a reliable foundation for our band and the audience. Every decision we make, every tempo we choose, and every note we play matters. Personally, I’m honored to pay attention to the little details—every , every nuance of every fill, every bass in every bar, and every exact tempo. Each song has a limited variation of tempo that will maintain the integrity of the groove. ence points for me, and they may to day, so some days your recollection For that reason, I have my tempos work for you too. The point is to be of tempos will be better than others. memorized, which has proven to be a able to consistently recall a couple of I’ve freaked myself out by being inac- very useful talent for playing live and tempos based on your body’s built-in curate at times. Don’t worry—it hap- in the studio. Memorizing tempos physiology. pens to all of us. The only remedy is to helps you quickly determine the If I cut 100 or 120 bpm in half, I get play to a metronome whenever you beats per minute (bpm) of a song, 50 or 60 bpm. By playing quarter-note practice and perform, or at least to and it allows you to count off that triplets at 120 bpm, I can find 90 or have one nearby for reference. song, for you and your mates, at an 180 bpm very easily, as 180 bpm is the When I was touring with Pink, I accurate pace. I love playing with a pulse of the quarter-note triplet, and always played to a metronome, metronome on pop and rock gigs, half of that is 90 bpm. Using that same regardless of whether we were jam- but I don’t always have that luxury. formula with 100 bpm, I can now find ming without sequences or I was get- In the cases where I don’t, having the 150 and 75 bpm. Using just 100 and ting a click track to play to in order to tempos memorized helps me feel 120 bpm as my reference points, I can be in sync with sequenced parts. I did confident and secure from the first call up a bunch of other tempos with that because I wanted to know that all note to the last. accuracy (50, 60, 75, 90, 150, and 180 of the tempos were locked in. It created I have a couple of simple points of bpm). If I slow down or speed up any absolute consistency for every show. reference—120 bpm and 100 bpm— of these tempos, I can estimate nearly (I also used a metronome when I audi- that I use to find any tempo. For me, every rate in between. tioned for gigs with and Stevie 120 bpm is a comfortable walking Of course, I love working with a Nicks.) You may be comfortable using tempo. I can call that up in my mind metronome, and I always suggest to the metronome just to give you start- quite accurately. I also practiced a lot my students to practice everything ing tempos, and then you play the in the ’70s when disco was infiltrating with a metronome to develop a con- songs without it. It’s your choice. the music scene, so I can always recall sistent internal pulse. The more you Either way, I say have a great time— that standard dance tempo. (It’s practice with a metronome, the better with great time! branded in my brain for life!) A tempo you will memorize tempos. It’s also of 100 bpm is about the fastest com- fun to test yourself by working at a few Mark Schulman has drummed for numer- ous rock and pop artists, including Pink, fortable speed at which I can I play 32- specific tempos per day and seeing if Sheryl Crow, Foreigner, , note single strokes with my hands on you can recall them the following day. Destiny’s Child, Billy Idol, and Cher. my knees. These are both great refer- Your body clock does change from day

72 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012

STRICTLY TECHNIQUE A Look at Hybrid Rudiments The Hairta and Its Application on the Drumset by Christopher Simms

MUSIC KEY ybrid rudiments are permutations, The following transcriptions showcase various ways that Hmixtures, or combinations of the clas- the hairta can be applied to the drumset. sic forty rudiments established by the Here’s how Tomas Haake plays the hairta on the Percussive Arts Society. In this article we’ll track “Bleed.” The tune centers on a 32nd- to take a look at how one of the more widely 16th-note hairta variation juxtaposed against a recognized hybrid rudiments, the hairta, has been utilized half-time rock groove. (0:00) in musical styles from bebop to metal. The hairta is most commonly articulated as an 8th-note triplet subdivided into two 16th notes followed by two 8th notes. This subdivision can be applied within any rhythmic context.

As with any rudiment, practicing the hairta from slow to fast, from fast to slow, from soft to loud, and from loud to soft are good ways to develop muscle memory and dex- terity. The exercises presented here will help you gain control of the hairta. The following exercise should be practiced at very slow tempos (40–80 bpm), because it progresses up to dense rhythmic subdivisions. Steve Gadd uses the hairta to great effect (at 9:03) on the Chick Corea track “Samba Song.” Gadd articulates the hairta on the snare drum, with the third note being played on a cowbell.

You can also add accents to the hairta to create dynamic contour within the rudiment. Hard-bop legend Jimmy Cobb uses the hairta to create little flourishes within more melodic solo phrases on the classic Wes Montgomery/ track “Four on Six.” (5:14)

74 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012 The possibilities for playing the hairta on the drumset are infinite, and there are plenty more examples of this distinc- tive rudiment being used very creatively. Fusion great Billy Cobham and pop drummer Carter Beauford, for instance, often use the hairta to create excitement and tension in their solos and fills. Once you’ve learned how other drum- mers have incorporated this powerful hybrid rudiment into their playing, try experimenting with some of your own variations. Good luck! ROCK ’N’ JAZZ CLINIC Sticking the Beat A Four-Step Process to Discovering New Grooves by Joel Popelsky

MUSIC KEY n this article I’ll show you how sticking 5 Ipatterns can be applied to the drumset ÷ 4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ . to create various grooves. Each groove is 4 built from the ground up, progressing LRLRLRLRLLRLRRLR through four easy-to-understand steps. The first step is to learn the basic sticking pattern by itself. Here’s the pattern with accents added. This is the building block for the final groove. The second step is to apply accents to the sticking pattern. (I recom- mend practicing the first two steps on a practice pad.) Don’t concern yourself with playing these patterns at lightning speeds. Try to play them at tempos that feel comfortable, and focus on making them groove. Now let’s add the bass drum. Once you’ve mastered the first two steps, you can move on to the third, which incorporates the bass drum. The final step is to apply the accented sticking pattern and the bass drum part to the drumset. Our first groove is based on a 4/4 16th-note sticking that leads with the right hand. Note the three groups of five (RLRRL) followed by a right-hand stroke. Finally, we’ll play the groove on the drumset. It’s impor- Here’s the pattern without accents. tant to note that playing the toms would be awkward if the sticking were reversed so that you were leading with the right hand.

Here’s the pattern with accents added.

Our third groove will explore two-surface riding. Here’s the pattern without accents. 9 Now let’s add the bass drum. ÷ 4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ . LLRLLRLRLLRLLRLR

Here’s the pattern with accents added.

Finally, we’ll apply the pattern to the drumset.

Now let’s add the bass drum.

For our second groove, we’ll start with a 4/4 16th-note sticking that leads with the left hand.

76 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012 Finally, we’ll play the groove on the drumset. Now let’s add the bass drum.

Finally, we’ll play the groove on the drumset. Our next groove incorporates 32nd notes. Here’s the pat- tern without accents.

Our final groove is in 7/4 and is based on a 16th-note sticking that leads with the right hand. Here’s the pattern Here’s the pattern with accents added. without accents.

Now let’s add the bass drum. Here’s the pattern with accents added.

Now let’s add the bass drum. Finally, we’ll play the groove on the drumset.

Finally, we’ll play the groove on the drumset. The next groove is based on 16th-note triplets leading with the left hand. Here’s the pattern without accents.

Once you’ve mastered these six grooves, you can experi- Here’s the pattern with accents added. ment with different ways to interpret them. For example, you could combine two of the grooves to create two-bar patterns, you could substitute a cowbell for the hi-hat or ride cymbal parts, or you could incorporate open and closed hi-hat sounds. You could also play the accented sticking pattern as a fill. These exercises are meant to be thought-provoking yet tangible enough that you can go on to come up with your own unique grooves based on your favorite sticking patterns. Have fun!

January 2012 • MODERN DRUMMER 77 DRUM SOLOIST Ostinato Studies Part 3: Metric Modulation by Jason Gianni

MUSIC KEY elcome to the final installment of W“Ostinato Studies.” Those of you who’ve been practicing parts one and two of the series should by now have a firm grasp on the foundation of developing solo phrases on top of an ostinato, as well as how to apply The next example shows only the accents from the previ- polymeters. This time we’re going to explore the idea of ous pattern. Try orchestrating them on an alternate cymbal playing metrically modulated feels over our ongoing multi- surface, like an X-hat on your ride cymbal side. pedal ostinato. Metric modulation is defined as changing from one or tempo to another by the use of polymetric phrases or atypical accents over a pulse. The accents act like a pivot point to generate the perception that you’re playing in a completely different tempo from where you began. The steps below will enable you to produce a splitting effect with your limbs, where your feet will stay at the origi- nal time signature/tempo while your hands pivot to a new time signature/tempo. As with parts one and two, video examples of the material The next step is to add an accent on every other note to from this article are posted on the Education page of produce the effect of a new tempo. moderndrummer.com. The following foot ostinato is the same simple pattern from the previous articles, which initially involves two pedals (hi-hat and bass drum) but eventually moves to four pedals.

The most logical way to begin soloing over this foot pat- tern is with a consistent stream of 16th notes with no Once you’re comfortable with the new pulse produced by accents. Make sure the notes line up with each other from your ride hand, add snare drum notes to create a backbeat hand to foot. in the new tempo.

By adding an accent on every third 16th note, you can create the illusion of a 3/16 pattern played over the ostinato. Keep in mind that it takes three measures for this pattern to reset back to beat 1.

78 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012 If your setup allows you to do so, you can use your snare hand to strike a floor tom to suggest a bass drum part in the new tempo. (Your snare hand would now alternate between the floor tom and snare.)

Although the topics presented in this series of articles are quite challenging and can be exciting to incorporate into your drumming vocabulary, I can’t stress enough the impor- tance of first developing the essentials of drumming—playing From here, go back to the beginning and repeat all of the appropriately for the music, being well versed in a multitude of steps using the following multi-pedal ostinato. styles, and providing musical support for the artists you work with. The material in this series can open up a new world to you, providing endless avenues to explore. Enjoy, but use the ideas wisely!

Jason Gianni is a full-time faculty member at Drummers Collective in New York City and a coauthor of the acclaimed instructional book The Drummer’s When combined with the four-pedal ostinato, the metrically Bible. For more information, visit jasongianni.com. modulated pattern in Example 6 will now look like the following.

January 2012 • MODERN DRUMMER 79

FUNKY BEAT Ideas From the Road Soundcheck Grooves to Chew On by David Garibaldi

’d like to share with you some simple ideas that evolved from a jam session at a soundcheck with Tower Iof Power. These grooves felt so good that I thought I’d pass them on. On the road, we usually have a fairly routine schedule—at least as routine as it can be while roaming around the world in a funk band. Generally, we do three to five shows in a row followed by a day off, which is usually spent traveling to a faraway city for the next series of shows. Each day there’s a memo (the “Sheet of Lies”) listing the following day’s events: departure time, crew schedule, band schedule, soundcheck time, dinner and show times, and so on. We travel regularly on show days, unless we have to go a particu- larly long distance. In that case, we travel overnight on our tour bus. Believe it or not, we still rehearse. This usually happens at soundcheck, which for us is a combination of a traditional soundcheck, a rehearsal (if necessary), and a jam. We’re always working on our music—whether that’s tweaking arrangements, learning new songs to be added to the live show, or developing ideas for songs to be recorded. The daily jam has been going on since my first day in the band and has provided us with source material for many of our songs. It’s an important part of the inner workings of . Here are some of the grooves that developed out of one of these jams. Example 1 is the basic idea, and Examples 2–9 are variations. Examples 10 and 11 are some extra things that weren’t part of this particular jam, but they’re pretty cool. As always, the key elements here are patience and precision. If necessary, dis- regard the tempo markings and focus on making the exercises comfortable for you. Practicing with a metronome is a must, and you should make sure that your ghost strokes are light and transparent.

82 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012 Oviedo

Gregorio

Marie

Photo:

Just in case you’ve forgotten (or you’re new to my methods), here’s a graph that describes the two-sound-level concept that’s a key component in my approach to drumming. The dynamics of the music being played always determine how you interpret these levels.

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90 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012

RATINGS SCALE Classic Excellent Good Fair Poor

HUMAN ELEMENT MD HUMAN ELEMENT CONTRIBUTOR ROUNDUP GARY NOVAK has by Ilya Stemkovsky played with Chick Corea, Allan Holdsworth, and MD 2011 Pro Panelist PETER ERSKINE’s total com- , but mand of phrasing and absolute musicality come Human Element is his through on Standards 2: Movie Music. His easy first outing as a joint swing on West Side Story’s “Somewhere” and leader. The album’s rolling, snares-off solo on “Cinema Paradiso” are the work of a –meets- sensitive master taking his time and winning the race in the 2070 fusion gives this end anyway. (fuzzymusic.com) drumming enigma plenty of room to set Longtime MD contributor MIKE HAID is perfectly the joint on fire. “Izzy” over the top on Michael Harris’s aptly titled Tranz- offers scalding hyper-bop leavened by Novak’s textural dynamics, blazing- Fused, ripping huge tom fills and tight double fast stickings, and gorgeous tom smashes. The title track plies drum ’n’ bass work, all within the first thirty seconds of bass burn and straight-ahead overdrive, with Novak swinging like Elvin “Seizure Salad.” The backbeat’s not forgotten, though, as on channeling a Jedi knight. The drummer’s pocket is deep and wide when the nasty half-time shuffle of “Nitrous Oxide Strut.” Marco required, as on “Cut” and “Speak With Your Eye,” the latter unleashing a Minnemann also appears, on two tracks. (lionmusic.com) feel so perfect it could slice ice. Gary Novak defies gravity. (Abstract Logix) Ken Micallef Sharing the Freedom, the U.S. Air Force Academy Band’s set of standards and originals, is the sound of an excellent big band, swinging and full of life. BLUE COUPE MD columnist TSGT HENRIQUE DE ALMEIDA TORNADO ON THE TRACKS drums with precise ghosting, killer hi-hat work, and some Drummer ALBERT BOUCHARD helped to conjure wicked soloing on “Yesterday’s Tomorrow.” Blue Öyster Cult’s image as grand wizards of sci-fi- (www.usafacademyband.af.mil) inspired sludge rock, through his inventive tom phrasing, steady timekeeping, and compositional skills. With his new Live at Blues Alley from the Army Blues Jazz project, Blue Coupe, featuring brother and former BÖC bassist Joe Ensemble is another swinging big band session, Bouchard, former bassist/songwriting collaborator Dennis this one in front of a 2010 , D.C., audi- Dunaway, and Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, Bouchard hasn’t lost his ence. MSG STEVE FIDYK (see his recent Jazz touch. On supernatural-themed originals and , he lays down solid Drummer’s Workshop articles in MD) plays his backside off, grooves and easily shifts feels, suggesting beat displacement. Blue kicking the tunes into high gear with a burning ride cymbal Coupe isn’t a BÖC clone, but the music’s strong rhythmic foundation and well-placed bombs. (usarmyband.com/blues) and haunting, if at times satirical, lyrical content recall classic Cult. (bluecoupeband.com) Will Romano Honey Ear Trio’s Steampunk Serenade features an avant-jazz sax/bass/drums lineup, with 2011 MD Pro Panelist ALLISON MILLER playing big grooves (“Olney 60/30”) and caressing her snare and cym- MULTIMEDIA bals with an assured touch (“High Water”). Check out Alli’s control with the tempo changes in “Six Nettes.” WICKED BEATS FEATURING GIL SHARONE (honeyeartrio.com) DVD LEVEL: ALL $24.99 MD scribe VINNIE ZUMMO (this past February’s Wicked Beats lives up to its name. Gil Sharone’s enthusiasm “Making Drum Loops” article) is mainly known for Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae is contagious, and as a guitar player with Joe Jackson, but his all- the drummer offers ample practical and technical knowl- pocket, no-frills drumming is solid on Swinging edge here. He keeps it all within reach, demonstrating, for Guitar Sounds of Young America, his latest disc of retro-style instance, how varying the hi-hat parts alone changes the jazz, rock, and everything else. Guest drummers include Ray beats. Sharone also wisely invites the contributions of several important Marchica, Gary Burke, Shawn Pelton, Matty Amendola, experts in the field, giving greater depth to the discussion. Historian Roger Bashiri Johnson, and Steve Merola. (vinniezummo.com) Steffens brings cultural perspective to the music, beginning with the heart- beat rhythm, Nyabingi. Sharone blazes on a cool reverse rimclick technique MD contributor ROBIN TOLLESON’s syncopated and then introduces the beat’s inventor, Lloyd Knibb (Skatalites). And kick and vintage-sounding snare groove mighty Carlton “Santa” Davis (Peter Tosh, ) shows off his patented hard on the Secret B-Sides’ infectious blend of hi-hat groove, “the flying cymbal.” The performances shine, and even the hip-hop, old-school R&B, and slinky funk. Flowers bonus scenes—covering dancehall patterns, hip-hop/reggae fusion, the use & Chocolate is a soul party on disc, and the drummer grasps of dynamics, and getting tones—are awesome. (Hudson) Robin Tolleson the idea of using space and knows just when to open the hi-hats. (thesecretb-sides.com) 92 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012

PAINTING WITH BRUSHES A RHYTHMIC TWIST: FEATURING CARLOS SKINFILL TRIPLET CONCEPTS FOR DRUMSET DVD LEVEL: BEGINNER TO INTERMEDIATE BY JEFF SALEM $19.99 BOOK/CD LEVEL: BEGINNER TO ADVANCED In this fifty-five-minute DVD, composer and con- $14.99 temporary jazz drummer Carlos Skinfill demon- Triplets “bring the swing” to rhythm. And Jeff strates various brush techniques, including stac- Salem brings this diverse, rhythmically seduc- cato and legato brushing and “off”-tone strikes (deadening a tive feel to in an easy-to-follow seventy-five-page drum’s natural harmonics by pressing the brush flush against the instructional. Once he establishes the crucial nuances of the triplet snare head). Onscreen graphics and overhead camera angles help feel, Salem introduces 12/8 grooves; shuffle variations; jazz, hip- to illustrate traditional approaches such as two-handed circular hop, and world patterns; and triplet-based fills from easy to sweeps. In addition, Skinfill employs double paradiddles (mistak- advanced. He emphasizes the unique distinction between straight enly called paradiddle-diddles) when performing an African and triplet feels and offers challenging combination exercises. The bembe-style composition with his son Alex in the section titled recommended listening references within each musical style are Rudiments. In the second half of the video, Skinfill discusses his spot-on, showcasing era-specific radio classics that feature the gear and offers personal, faith-based testimony. While there’s triplet in all its three-legged glory. MP3 audio examples of each nothing necessarily wrong with the inclusion of these features, the exercise and a variety of play-along tracks make this a fun, inex- viewer might prefer that the time were used for more in-depth pensive, and challenging journey into the twisting, triangular technical analysis. Ultimately, though, this is a useful, if fractured, world of triplets. (Hudson) Mike Haid instructional primer. (carlosskinfill.com) Will Romano

THE FORGOTTEN FOOT: A GUIDE TO DEVELOPING FOOT INDEPENDENCE AND HI-HAT/BASS COORDINATION FOR ALL DRUMMERS BY KOFI BAKER AND JORDAN HILL BOOK/CD LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE $19.99 Written collectively by Kofi Baker (Cream drummer ’s son) and Jordan Hill, The Forgotten Foot shines a light on the hi-hat hoof and its overlooked role in timekeeping and four-way coordination. Various examples of rock, jazz, and shuf- fle beats and fills are featured, including the hi-hat’s function within each pattern and the specific independence needed. Also covered is double bass drumming and “pedal-bridging” (playing the hi-hat and second bass drum simultaneously). But it’s not all about the feet—your hands also need to be together to execute the 16th-note-triplet crashes and 2-3 rumba clave pieces found here. A well-recorded fifty-eight-track CD of Baker demonstrating many of these exercises rounds out a nice package that investigates an uncom- mon instructional-text topic. (Hal Leonard) Ilya Stemkovsky

GOSPEL AND Greetings From Brazil! by Ben Meyer R&B DRUMMING Two new offerings help drummers and percussionists decode the vast topic of Brazilian FEATURING percussion styles, instruments, and musical applications. Though written with different JEFF DAVIS audiences in mind, the packages are well organized and put together thoughtfully. DVD LEVEL: ALL $14.99 Narrator/host Jeff CREATIVE BRAZILIAN DRUMMING BY CHRISTIANO GALVÃO Davis is a gospel/R&B great who BOOK/CD LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED $14.99 knows that a lot of very dynamic, Written by Brazilian native and prolific drumset artist Christiano Galvão, Creative Brazilian funky drummers got their start play- Drumming is focused on teaching you to play four popular Brazilian styles and also to ing in church. Davis’s comments develop the skills to unleash your own creativity within each. The included CD provides throughout the main part of this DVD, examples of every exercise in the book, as well as play-along tracks for each of the styles and in the bonus scenes, are a high- addressed within: baião, maracatu, frevo, and samba. The CD is a great idea, given the many subtleties light. Since the video clips are all from of Brazilian percussion. different previously released projects, Creative Brazilian Drumming is laid out in a user-friendly format and includes track listings for each though, there’s a disjointed feel to example. The notation is clear and easy to read, and the layering of parts and the inclusion of multiple the proceedings, and the connections variations on each pattern make the book a truly practical volume. The up-to-date recommended listen- between gospel and R&B aren’t ing suggestions and reasonable price tag only sweeten the deal. (Hal Leonard) explored as deeply as they might have been. But the DVD is an impres- AFRO-BRAZILIAN PERCUSSION GUIDE BY KIRK BRUNDAGE sive highlight reel, and it’s not unin- BOOKS (3) LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED $15.99 EACH formative. Among the cool bits: Afro-Brazilian Percussion Guide is an extensive three-volume study of Aaron Spears’ amazing chops and folkloric and modern Brazilian percussion history, styles, and culture. emotional feel, Gerald Heyward’s Author Kirk Brundage is a Brazilian percussion expert based in Los command of the modern gospel lan- Angeles and has traveled extensively throughout the South American country. The first of the three vol- guage, and Adam Deitch’s demon- umes, Introduction, is somewhat of an overview and includes sections on capoeira, samba, carnaval, and stration of the differences between a candomblé traditions. The book also includes a section on drumset adaptations of the included styles, J Dilla groove and a DJ Premier beat. which is a nice touch. The Carnaval and Candomblé volumes delve much more deeply into each of these And Thomas Pridgen…he’s simply a topics and flesh out the information presented in Introduction. Afro-Brazilian Percussion Guide contains a life force. (Hudson) Robin Tolleson huge amount of information and would be of great value to high school and university instructors inter- ested in starting Brazilian percussion ensembles. The series would benefit from the inclusion of recorded examples, though recommended listening, viewing, and websites are provided to aid the reader. (Alfred)

Bengt Nyman

by Ken Micallef

One of the premier bass players and producers of his generation, he helped reinvigorate Miles Davis’s career, has When we do a take together, I don’t ask worked with artists such as , , the guitar player or the horn player , and Jay-Z, and has recorded fourteen albums which take they like the best. I ask Poogie, or Buddy Williams, or Tony as a leader with some of the best drummers in the world. Williams. Those guys always see the whole picture. They don’t have their ll the great drummers have a really late to his drumming; he’ll play exactly head buried in their instrument. Poogie “A good feeling,” Marcus Miller says. the same way.” loves music, and he listens to the whole “They all love music and love listening Miller’s latest album, A Night in Monte- thing. Other drummers will just choose to music. A lot of drummers don’t really Carlo, is a concert recording with the the take they played the best on. If you listen or know how to accompany. Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, have a lot of experience but you’re not Other drummers, because they love featuring original material and choice really a team player, you can fake it. But if music and love people, that’s what they covers in grand style. Here, Marcus you’re really that kind of person, it’s a lot do naturally. Music is really just an exten- speaks about the drummer on that more natural. Poogie has a great feel. sion of your personality. The guy who release, Poogie Bell, as well as many of And he knows how to swing; some funk only wants to talk about himself, who the other great players he’s shared stage drummers can’t swing. Poogie speaks doesn’t want to share—that will trans- and studio time with. both languages authentically.

98 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012 into the pocket. He’s like a surgeon. Jordan, even if it’s a straight feel, will put a little swing into it, like the old New Orleans cats. It’s in between the two feels. Zigaboo [Modeliste] would do that a lot. And Steve Jordan is really commit- ted to the sound of his drums.

VINNIE COLAIUTA You might think a guy like Vinnie can’t groove because he can play such compli- cated stuff. But Vinnie has a really good feel. And that makes it nice. I have been in situations where Vinnie kept that feel, STEVE GADD then when it was time to create excite- Steve Gadd is a beautiful person. He is so ment he broke out those chops. That’s interested in you, whoever you are. the ultimate, when you can use your When we did sessions, before Steve even chops to create emotion. I really like pulled out his sticks he would ask for the Vinnie’s feel. demo to be played twenty times. He’d order coffee and just sit there and listen to the demo. By the time he pulled out Lenny swings from that late-’60s frame- sticks and played, he knew the song. He work. He’s one of the most creative didn’t know the music, he knew the drummers I’ve ever played with. You’re song. What he played was always so not sure how or why it works; sometimes appropriate and so beautiful and sup- he just wills the drums to do stuff. He’s portive to the music—as opposed to really a genius on the drums. My first gig drummers who hear the demo and play was in Lenny White’s fusion band when along the first time. They think they’ve I was seventeen. He came to a club got it down. That is a guy who’s insecure where and I were jamming, and wants to show you how bad he is. when I was sixteen. Lenny came in and Personality and your willingness to be invited me to his house. We began hang- a human being are real important. Other ing out, and I took a semester off from [successful] drummers can be more self- college to go on the road with him. We centered, but because they’re so talent- toured on the Astral Pirates album, then ed you just fall in and follow them—they recorded Streamline. have a little something special that allows people to enjoy what they do. OMAR HAKIM But if it weren’t for that, they’d have diffi- Omar is very free. When he plays, he culty, because their personality doesn’t plays reactionary. He will help you build allow them to be a group player. energy. He’s been playing the way he is now since we were fifteen years old. He STEVE JORDAN comes from the funk school that people Steve began as a fusion drummer. He don’t remember, that late-’60s/early-’70s has re-created himself. He thought school. He used to play at block parties fusion was getting old, and then he saw where he had to groove to keep people the value in groove. Usually the fusion excited. If someone plays busy, I usually cats have devalued groove so much that play less. But since Omar and I grew up by the time they get back to groove, it’s together, we can both play busy and it’s too late. But Steve really became known still cool. for his groove. Our best record together is David TEDDY CAMPBELL Sanborn’s Upfront. He killed that record. He’s from gospel, and he’s fast. He knows He came in with this old snare drum that how to play with machines and make sounded like a trash can, and we argued them feel good. That was hard when I over using it. But when I hear the record was coming up; it wasn’t part of the cul- now, that snare drum makes the record. ture then. And the way Jordan feels on that record, it’s beautiful. CHRIS DAVE Steve Gadd sounds more drum-and- I jammed with him early on. I recognized bugle corps than Steve Jordan. When that he was the new guy. He’s incorpo- you play with Gadd, there may be a click rated a lot of the J Dilla push-and-pull track, but you will never hear it. Gadd aspect of the hip-hop beat. Chris looks at covers every click with a beat. If the band the drumset differently from the drum- starts speeding up, Gadd plays a five- mers who came before him. He’s a very stroke roll and brings everybody back creative cat.

January 2012 • MODERN DRUMMER 99 FROM THE PAST

Classical Roots, Part 3 acoustic,” Cage said. “It is a change of mind, a turning around.” Cage wrote for both traditional and nontraditional percussion instruments, but he’s best remembered for expanding by Elizabeth Walsh JOHN CAGE the percussive capabilities of the piano. The prepared piano, which he created for He expanded our very concept of what music is—and in a friend’s dance performance in 1940, the process provided rhythmatists across the musical turned a familiar old keyboard into some- spectrum with the confidence to imagine the impossible. thing new and exotic. Inspired by the work of his former teacher Henry Cowell, Cage experimented with inserting com- hythm is essential to the music of tions, each defined by a separate rhyth- mon household items like screws, bolts, RJohn Cage (1912–1992). Throughout mic pattern (think ’s paper, and weather stripping in the piano his long career Cage used rhythm as a “Hollaback Girl”). strings. The result was “Bacchanale,” the compositional building block and was As a composer who focused so much first of many pieces he wrote for prepared one of the first composers to cre- on rhythm, Cage wrote a lot of music for piano. Fans of Wilco drummer Glenn ate works for percussion ensemble. Over dance. Over the years, many of his pieces Kotche, who for years has explored the the years he was influenced by serialism, were created for the Merce Cunningham idea of a “prepared drumset,” are sure to Zen Buddhism, indeterminacy, and Dance Company; Cage was also a musi- connect the dots to Cage’s experiments mesostics (the latter being Cage’s word cian for the company and often toured in this area. for his own version of acrostic poems), with it. He described the relationship Later in his career, Cage became inter- between music and ested in using chance, or indeterminacy, dance in this partner- as a means of exploring sound. He used ship as “independent the I Ching, a classic Chinese text and div- but coexistent.” Dance ination tool, to make choices while writ- and sound occur in the ing music. Frequently, he also allowed same space at the the performer to determine how a piece same time but are would evolve. “Apartment House 1776,” unrelated in terms for example, is written for “Four singers of rhythm. and any number of musicians with any Cage also used melody or keyboard instruments and a silence as a composi- drum ad lib.” The piece’s length is unde- tional tool, starting cided, and the singers choose what they early in his career and will sing.

“The spirit of percussion opens everything, even what was, so to speak, completely closed.” —John Cage

culminating in the Cage’s influence on twentieth-century famous piece “4'33".” music is massive. His writing style had a He described his first major impact on minimalism, and com- pieces for percussion as posers who worked for and with him “short motives include David Tudor, Earle Brown, and expressed either as Joan La Barbara. Even the Beatles were but rhythmic elements and the use of sound or as silence of the same length.” affected by his work; Paul McCartney has percussion would continue to be essen- In 1948, Cage was deeply affected by a said that Cage and tial features of his work. visit to Harvard University’s anechoic influenced the Fab Four’s legendary unre- Cage’s use of rhythm had its roots in chamber, a room designed to absorb all leased track “Carnival of Light,” which studies with Arnold Schoenberg, father of sound. Cage had expected total silence was recorded in 1967. the serialist method (also known as the but still heard sounds, which he later The work of John Cage is groundbreak- Second Viennese School). Cage wrote learned were his own blood pressure and ing in many ways. The composer experi- that for his teacher, “Harmony was not nervous system. He realized that for most mented with compositional technique, just coloristic: it was structural,” and he of us, there is no such thing as silence. the structure of musical works, and per- applied that principle to his own music, The piece “4'33",” which can be played formance methodology. But his use of replacing harmony with rhythm. on any instrument and is made up entirely rhythm, and his love of percussion, was One example of this is “Pulse,” com- of rests (yes, there is sheet music), high- constant throughout his career; through posed in 1939 for six percussionists. lights this concept. It draws attention to them he expanded the vocabulary of Instead of a melodic motif driving the the ambient noise that exists at all times Western music and challenged artists to structure of the piece (think of the open- and asks the listener to reconsider the step into the unknown. ing riff of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to differences and similarities between ”), “Pulse” is split into two sec- music, noise, and silence. “Silence is not

100 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012

REMEMBERING ERIC CARR Mel Robbins It’s been two decades since the passing of the man who powered ’s ’80s comeback. ZO2 drummer and Carr fanatic Joey Cassata, who contributed to a brand-new EC tribute album, marks the occasion.

still can’t believe it’s been twenty years (which focuses on Eric’s years with the Unfinished Business features rare Eric Carr Isince my favorite drummer of all time, Eric band), and my personal favorite, the video drum and vocal recordings, previously unre- Carr, passed away. It feels like it was only yes- Live Uncensored. leased songs from his time with Kiss, live terday when I first heard the Kiss album The first time I saw Eric play behind his performances, and remixes. There’s also a . It completely blew me monstrous Ludwig kit, I knew that was what I version of Kiss’s “All Hell’s Breaking Loose,” away. To this day, I think that’s the biggest had to do for the rest of my life. Eric is the which I recorded with my band, ZO2. Plus, as drum sound ever recorded. main reason why I’m a drummer today, and a cool bonus feature, in between the tracks Eric replaced Kiss’s original drummer, he’s why I play Ludwig drums. Needless to are never-before-heard audio recordings of , in 1980. He brought new life and say, I was at a loss for words when his sister Eric joking around and commenting on vari- energy to the band, which many felt had Loretta contacted me to be part of his ous subjects related to his career in Kiss. It’s been missing for years. Taking on the “Fox” upcoming twentieth-anniversary commemo- really a must-have for any Carr fan or Kiss makeup persona, Eric was quickly accepted rative CD, Unfinished Business. Not only did collector, and I’m very proud to be a small and became a fan favorite for the next she want me to be part of the project, she part of it. decade. Sadly, on November 24, 1991, he also wanted me to rerecord Eric’s finest You will also be treated to some unforget- passed away following a yearlong battle moment, “Carr Jam.” I was both excited and table performances by many of Eric’s friends with cancer. extremely nervous. and fellow musicians. The care and emotion Some of Carr’s highlights with Kiss include For those of you unfamiliar with the song, that they express on each track are a testa- the aforementioned Creatures of the Night, “Carr Jam 1981” appears on the Kiss album ment to a man whose personality and heart the Kiss DVD box set Kissology Volume 2 Revenge, which was released right after Eric’s were as enormous as his talent. Eric Carr’s passing. The version on Revenge spirit is truly alive in each and every song. is based on a demo that Ace A highlight of Unfinished Business is a sec- Frehley and Eric were working on; tion from Eric’s Kiss vocal audition tape lorendales later it was the basis of the song where he sings the song “Shandi” from the “Breakout” from the first album by Unmasked album. Eric’s vocals were lifted Frehley’s Comet. The best part of from the tape and combined with a refresh- “Carr Jam 1981” was the middle ing new musical arrangement; this is one of section, where a professional my personal favorites on the CD. recording of Eric’s iconic drum solo I never got the chance to meet Eric Carr, was featured. but everyone who did have the pleasure of As I sat down to record “Carr knowing him says the same thing: Not only Jam,” I felt as though I was actually was he a monster drummer, but he was also in Eric’s shoes for a brief second. It the nicest person you could ever meet. I was as though I was ten years old hope this commemorative CD and article again, jamming along to Kiss songs keep his memory alive for many years to in my room in . come. Eric, we all miss you.

102 MODERN DRUMMER • January 2012 PROPS FROM PEERS

“No finer human being ever walked the face had to end the solo standing on the drum thunderous style helped push Kiss into a of the earth. Eric Carr, besides being a bom- stool so that the crowd could see him! Not more hard-rock-driven direction. His ball bastic drummer and a great singer, had only were his live performances electric in busting was legendary, and I often think many friends and admirers. We loved him. nature, but Eric could also sing powerfully of how much he would have loved That We miss him still.” and play bass and guitar, and he was a great Metal Show, the TV show I currently host on —Gene Simmons, Kiss songwriter. He is sorely missed and loved by VH1 Classic. He would have been a regular all. If heaven has a band, Eric is having some for sure.” —Eddie Trunk “Eric’s dynamic drumming reinvigorated amazing jams for sure!” Kiss at a time of upheaval, and his passion —, former Kiss guitarist “Eric and I had a great relationship—kinda and dedication helped remind us of what cool to have that kind of relationship with we may have lost during that chapter in the “Not only was Eric Carr an amazing drum- someone you admire.” band’s history. He was a little guy with enor- mer, he was also an amazing person. Truly —Scott Rockenfield, Queensrÿche mous heart, sensitivity, and compassion for one of the nicest guys in the business.” others. A very unfair and cruel loss.” —Mike Portnoy “Eric brought a more mature style of drum- —, Kiss ming to Kiss, which they didn’t have before “Eric was the best drummer Kiss could ever and haven’t had since.” “I always felt that Peter and Eric were exactly have. To this day, Creatures of the Night is my —Frankie Banali, Quiet Riot the right drummers for Kiss during their favorite Kiss LP. His drum sound and perfor- times in the band. Each guy brought his mance make that album!” “Eric was, believe it or not, my favorite unique style and singing into Kiss and —John Humphrey, Seether Kiss member.” helped propel them forward while —Lydia Criss, ex-wife of Peter Criss doing so.” —, Kiss “Eric was a class act, a great friend, and a great musician. Many miss him. I was hon- The author would like to thank Carr’s sister “Eric Carr will always be remembered by the ored to record a song for his tribute CD, Loretta Caravello and the entire Caravello fans and musicians he impressed during his which he wrote, and to be part of his memo- family, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Bruce years in Kiss. He got a thunderous sound ry. Rest in peace, my friend.” Kulick, and Kiss fans everywhere. To buy a copy from his Ludwig kit, and he was fearless in —A.J. Pero, Twisted Sister of Unfinished Business, go to ericcarr.com. his desire to put on a great show, with his tremendous drum solos. His drumkit would “Eric Carr joining Kiss in 1980 gave the band dwarf him, but he didn’t care—of course he a much-needed shot in the arm, and his his screaming set comes from schoolteacher Richard Lewis of Bridgend, South TWales. “I decided to make a kit to play in school that I thought might encour- age children to play—not that they needed any encouragement to make noise,” Lewis says. “After speaking to my friend Ralph Davis, who runs an apparel design company, Obsolete Industries, we settled on what I call the Demon, which is color- ful enough to catch the eye in any school. “First we prepped the drums for painting. Once they were nice and smooth I painted them white and sent them off for the artwork. To draw the graffiti-style images, Ralph used Posca paints, which are usually used on surfboards and are pretty much ‘paint in a pen.’ Notice the clever positioning of the air vents for eyes. Then it was back to the shop for a few layers of lacquer, which really brought out the bright colors, and the hardware went to a local powder coater.” As all drummers know, there’s nothing worse than a tom rubbing against the bass drum and causing scratches. To combat this, Lewis added rubber trim around the bottom hoop of the rack tom. “The trim fits perfectly,” he says, “and when added to the top hoops it also stops children from breaking their sticks!” So, did Richard achieve his goals for the Demon drums? “The kit is now in a school,” he says, “standing up to a daily beating from various kids, and it has done its job of encouraging children to take up playing the drums.”

Photo Submission: Hi-res digital photos, along with descriptive text, may be emailed to [email protected]. Show “Kit of the Month” in the subject line of the message.

JAZZ MASTER JEFF HAMILTON COMING UP Alex Solca IN MODERN DRUMMER BRITISH HEAVYWEIGHT PERCUSSION PRO INFLUENCES: KARL BRAZIL TAKU HIRANO CHARLIE BENANTE OF ANTHRAX

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